Julian Nagelsmann euphorically hugged his Bayern stars after a big win in the premier class, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé went into the dressing room, visibly pissed off.
In the round of 16 showdown with Paris Saint-Germain, the German record champions deservedly made it into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 2-0 (0-0) win and clearly signed off the two world players. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (61st) and substitute Serge Gnabry (89th) made Wednesday evening perfect for the “Super-Bayern” celebrated by the fans with their goals.
“Especially in the second half we shed our shyness and were clearer in defense,” said Thomas Müller at DAZN. “We then played the better game and I think we deserved to win.” Choupo-Moting scored – like in the first leg Kingsley Coman as a former PSG professional – after Müller won the ball vigorously and Leon Goretzka passed. Gnabry completed a counterattack (89th).
“Maximum Greed and Emotions”
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. “The players did it really well,” said Nagelsmann. If his team pairs “maximum greed and emotions” with the “quality we have”, Bayern are “incredibly good”.
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′). “You have to be honest, in a football game like this there are always moments where you need luck through diligence,” said Müller.
Both teams are tense
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.
Some 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 (25′), previously Nuno Mendes had been released on the “incredibly fast” left side of PSG with just one opening pass, according to Nagelsmann.
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.
Ex-Leipziger Mukiele in and out again
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 because of Müller’s offside position. 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.
