The duel between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Bayern Munich in the Champions League final was fierce and interesting. But PSG’s failure to take advantage of a number of opportunities in the first half made them finally punished by Bayern Munich.
PSG chose to play 4-3-3 with a false nine so that Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Angel Di Maria moved freely up front. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich chose to lower a 4-2-3-1 formation by relying on Robert Lewandowski as the spearhead.
In terms of speed, PSG was better able to show their speed in the first half. Two opportunities for PSG came through fast attacks, namely when Neymar’s shot was thwarted by Manuel Neuer and secondly when Angel Di Maria’s shot was still soaring over the goal.
Even though Bayern Munich cannot launch a fast attack because PSG fullbacks rarely rise and their three parallel midfielders are compact in helping the defense, Munich have another way of banging on the PSG defense.
By utilizing Lewandowski as a baiting goal, Munich also managed to get two golden opportunities to score goals. First when Lewandowski hit the post and the second when Lewandowski’s header from close range was blocked by Keylor Navas.
PSG’s biggest loss in the first half was not being able to maximize the neglect of Munich’s back line. Mbappe had the ball and shooting space open at the end of the first half, plus close range from goal. But Mbappe’s kick was too weak to tame easily.
In the first half, PSG should regret not being able to record the advantage first.
With a 4-3-3 scheme and relying on a fast counter attack, PSG will be able to benefit more if Bayern Munich’s defense line is higher because they are trying to catch up.
Coman Comes from Behind Lewandowski’s Shadow
Entering the second half with the score still goalless, Bayern Munich further confined the PSG defense. On the one hand, Munich could no longer cut PSG’s defense through the speed of Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, to Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich.
But on the other hand, the ball that continued to move in the PSG defense made Munich finally succeed in finding a gap in the ‘Les Parisiens’ defense.
Crosses, flat or hull, continue to be released by Bayern Munich into the penalty box. When the PSG defense was too focused on Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Mueller who were often used as bait goals, Kimmich succeeded in seeing the presence of Kingsley Coman at the far post.
The presence of Coman who was considered harmless in this cross scheme was ultimately deadly for PSG. Coman was not closely guarded and managed to beat Keylor Navas with a header.
This goal also shows Bayern Munich to be a more mature team in terms of team collectivity. When Serge Gnabry is locked tight, they still have other ways to tear apart the opponent’s defense.
On the other hand, PSG underwent the second half with difficulties in developing a counter-attack strategy that was effective in the first half.
The trio of Ander Herrera, Marquinhos and Leandro Paredes succeeded in closing the space on the side of the field so that Munich could not move quickly in that sector. However, they had difficulty winning the ball so that the supply of balls to Neymar and his friends was getting minimal.
Munich also chose to tackle Neymar and his friends while the ball was still in the middle of the field even though they had to face the risk of a card from the referee’s pocket.
After Coman’s goal, Munich chose to pull out Serge Gnabry and Coman. Munich included Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Perisic. Meanwhile, PSG tried to change the situation by playing Marco Verratti and Julian Draxler.
PSG still had a hard time finding opportunities in the second half and when those opportunities came they were still unable to maximize them. Marquinhos was able to stand free to receive a good bait from Di Maria. But his shot was thwarted by Neuer.
Because they were 1-0 up, both Munich fullbacks, Kimmich and Davies were not too insistent on getting up to help attack. They can focus more on building defense.
This situation made PSG even more difficult. Neymar, Mbappe, and other players ended up trapped in individual games that tend to push themselves.
Eric Choupo Mouting, who made a miracle in the match against Atalanta, tried to be demoted. But Munich in front of PSG is a mature team. FC Hollywood is a team that can go through the final minutes calmly when they take the lead.
Evidently, there were no dangerous opportunities from PSG in injury time. Bayern Munich ensure the Champions League title this season belongs to them.
At the end of the match, PSG clearly deserved to regret their loss of ferocity in front of the Munich goal in the final match. As a result, they were punished by Bayern Munich, which as a team was more mature.
