After 12 long months of competition, the Champions League reached it’s latest ever conclusion in a calendar year on Sunday night (23rd Aug). Hansi Flick’s Bayern Munich were crowned the new Champions of Europe after seeing off French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
For the first time in the competition’s history, the winners of the trophy have not only gone undefeated, but they have won every single game played in the tournament. A phenomenal effort and a feat not to be laughed at. A feat that Bayern fans can proudly claim as theirs alone.
However, much like many finals of major competitions, the game itself failed to live up to the excitement that both the semi-finals and the quarter-finals had billed. Much like the 2018/19 final between Tottenham and Liverpool, winners Bayern Munich and their opponents PSG did not show the quality that their exciting routes to the final had promised. The showcase that many fans were expecting to see – on the biggest stage in European football – failed to come to life. The sparks were minimal; the ignition a failure.
Many were hoping to see plenty of goals with world superstars on show. Kylian Mbappé and Neymar were starting for PSG and Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski ha been selected for Bayern Munich. However, the clinical prowess in front of goal that we have all become accustomed to with these big names in particular, appeared to be in short supply with all four men failing to get on the scoresheet. The only goal came from an unlikely match-winner in the shape of Kingsley Coman who has now become only the fifth French man to score in a Champions League final. Although Coman’s effort was well timed and decisive, many fans were expecting to see goals galore from some of the biggest names in European football.
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Bayern Munich had notoriously destroyed previous five-time winners of the competition Barcelona, 8-2 in their quarter final, before breeezing past Olympique Lyonnais 3-0 in their semi-final. Similarly, PSG had shown their own finesse when dramatically coming from behind against Atalanta in their quarter-final, after scoring goals in the 90th minute and then the 93rd minute, before cruising past RB Leipzig in their semi-final.
However, similar exciting moments were few and far between in this final fixture. Bayern’s 2019/20 Champions League winning captain, Manuel Neuer, was named Man of the Match in a move reflective of a game where Bayern Munich showed little in attack and spent their first half under fire from PSG.
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Having said this, it’s not often that a side can reduce PSG to 38% possession with Bayern capitalising on sloppy mistakes and poor attempts to retain possession by PSG.
Coman’s goal in the 59th minute came from what can only be described as Bayern’s best passage of play. A headed goal, met superbly from a Joshua Kimmich cross. A team goal that the Bayern squad will be relieved Coman connected with, as goal-chances were few and far between. Bayern’s only other chance that seemed a certain goal, was pulled wide by Lewandowski from the right-hand side of the box with ten minutes left on the clock.
Wasteful Paris Saint-Germain:
Although Bayern were the favourites heading into the final, it was fair to say that at half-time PSG were on top, with Thomas Tuchel’s side having had the best opportunities to go in ahead at the break. Twenty-one year old Mbappé had failed to take advantage of a mistake at the back by Bayern, firing his shot straight into the arms of keeper Neuer. A pivotal miss for the PSG front-man who is normally no stranger to finding the back of the net. This chance for Mbappé summarised the first half which had seen PSG have the run-of-play with a series of efforts blocked by Neuer, cementing his MOTM performance.
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Coming out for the second half PSG’s earlier promise began to fade. Arguably one of PSG’s most exciting players in the tournament, Ángel Di María, failed to show any real threat when it mattered most, before being substituted – whilst his team were in desperate need of an equaliser – for former Stoke City player and quarter-final match winner Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Neymar misses the mark:
The 2019/20 Ligue 1 winners struggled to retain possession after falling behind to Coman’s header with sloppy passes aplenty and crosses aimlessly sent far and wide. The usually impressive Neymar also failed in his attempts to help revive his struggling PSG teammates with a series of woeful efforts.
In the 86th minute when a goal could still have been a possibility, Neymar was gifted the opportunity to play in Mbappé, however his poor pass was easily cut out by up-and-coming Bayern left-back Alphonso Davies who has continued to show both skill and class since the Champions League restart.
Two minutes later Neymar failed to find Choupo-Moting with a poorly executed cross that simply was not good enough, leaving PSG fans in despair. Edging closer to the full-time whistle, Julian Draxler found a way through the Bayern Munich defence in 90+1, before finding Neymar and creating a chance that was arguably PSG’s best hope at stealing a late equaliser. However, all of the PSG players close by failed to extend a leg and deflect in Neymar’s wayward shot at Neuer’s goal.
Bayern Munich’s second half performance was much improved, seeing them remain calm and composed in a game that saw both sides turn scrappy at points, with each team picking up 4 yellow cards. PSG’s Champions League Final was summed up by their last opportunity at goal. Neymar cleverly whipped a scintillating cross in to the box, yet there was no player in a blue shirt anywhere close by to receive it: a positive, promising start that resulted in no real threat. No real sparkle. No final product. The magic that was expected in the second half didn’t come. The magic that was possible after a promising first 45 minutes, was in-fact, non-existent.
📷: Miguel A. Lopes/Getty Images
Classy Bayern:
This European title is now Bayern Munich’s 6th Champions League title, to top off a season in which they also won the Bundesliga and the German Cup.
Despite the poor second-half showing from PSG, Bayern Munich showed composure and class in order to see the game out. Manager Hansi Flick has to be praised for his revival of Bayern since being appointed interim manager in November after the departure of Niko Kovac. With morale at an all-time low after a heavy 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, the treble for Bayern seemed inconceivable. Yet here Hansi Flick stands, a treble winning manager of Bayern Munich.
Flick’s own composure in decision making is evident in his choice to field match-winner Kinglsey Coman instead of seasoned Croatian Ivan Perišić who is currently on loan from Inter Milan. Flick’s faith in both his younger players (like Davies) and his older players (such as Thomas Müller) was clear in his line-up. A fine mixture of youth and experience alike, that ultimately played dividends for the new European Champions.
Flick’s achievements with this Bayern team over a season that has been blighted with uncertainty, have, in fact, been nothing short of remarkable.
Not only have Bayern Munich secured a trio of trophies, they became the first time to win all of their Champions League games in a single campaign and also prevented an exciting PSG side from scoring in a European Cup game for the first time in 35 matches. Two very impressive statistics, to match three very impressive trophy hauls. Bayern Munich: well deserved 2019/20 European Champions.
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