Chapeau, FC Bayern! In the round of 16 showdown with Paris Saint-Germain and the unsubscribed top stars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, the German record champions deservedly entered the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 2-0 (0-0). As in the 1-0 first-leg success with Kingsley Coman’s goal, a former PSG professional in Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting became a nightmare for the French champions, who failed again in Europe, in the second leg. After Thomas Müller energetically won the ball, Leon Goretzka served center forward Choupo-Moting with an overview, who completed it (61st minute). Substitute Serge Gnabry scored shortly before the end after a counterattack (89th).
In front of 75,000 spectators in the sold-out Allianz Arena, the Munich defense around defense chief Dayot Upamecano and the amazingly calm Josip Stanisic slowed down the attacks by Messi and Mbappé. A superb tackle by Matthijs de Ligt after a shot by Vitinha prevented Bayern from falling behind after a blunder by goalkeeper Yann Sommer (38′). Thanks to a tactically mature performance on the sidelines, coach Julian Nagelsmann was able to celebrate his biggest win to date as a Bayern coach. The quarter-final opponent will be drawn on March 17th.
Bayern boss Oliver Kahn described the game shortly before kick-off at DAZN as the “absolute game in the Champions League”. Just in the round of sixteen. The high level of tension in view of the enormous importance was evident in both teams. Mbappé tried for the first time in the second minute against Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who had made an outstanding save in the first leg.
A few negligence on the part of Munich – both offensively and defensively – made the guests appear slightly superior at the beginning. De Ligt and Sommer also had to join forces to save against the omnipresent Messi (25th), previously Nuno Mendes had been released on the PSG left side, which Nagelsmann also said was “incredibly fast”, with just one opening pass.
The Bayern coach, wearing a chic turtleneck that evening, was visibly dissatisfied on the sidelines and shouted instructions onto the pitch. Stanisic and Upamecano did a good job as Mbappé supervisors. The Vice World Champion was only rarely able to show off his enormous speed. Goretzka also convinced as a clearer with many important duels. The German record champions did little offensively until the break.
Behind Choupo-Moting, captain Müller, Jamal Musiala and first-leg goalscorer Coman should cause unrest in the PSG defense around veteran Sergio Ramos. Musiala’s strong finish, which PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma parried (32nd), was the best attempt so far. Then Sommer’s failed dribbling, which former Dortmund player Achraf Hakimi guessed, almost led to a goal. Vitinha shot the stolen ball on goal, de Ligt straddled.
In the second half, PSG coach Christophe Galtier replaced former Leipzig player Nordi Mukiele – the Frenchman only came on in the 36th minute for the ailing captain Marquinhos. Bayern then got off to a much better start after the restart – although Choupo-Moting’s supposed lead was called back in the 52nd minute due to Müller being offside. But the second attempt a few minutes later counted. With outstretched arms, “Choupo” celebrated his goal against his ex-club – the quarter-finals were now very close.
Sommer made up for his mistake in the 65th minute with a powerful save against Ramos’ header. Bayern missed several counterattack chances before the final whistle, but the fans celebrated anyway. Especially when the long-injured Sadio Mané came on and made his comeback. Gnabry then made the Munich premier class evening perfect.
