Bayern Munich put in a solid performance against group winners PSG, emerge 3-1 victors in an emphatic home display.
Bayern Munich cap off the UCL group stage with a win at home. After an abysmal showing in Paris a few months back in, the German club finished with their chins up. Jupp Heynckes was not without complications in terms of squad selection, however.
The home sides injury list continued to mount early. Arjen Robben, Manuel Neuer and Thiago are among the key absentees. Despite some hiccups, Bayern put in a refreshingly disciplined performance against a powerful emerging club.
PSG brought their big guns to the Allianz Arena, but Bayern Munich were up to the task and ground out a solid 3-1 victory.
A well organized first-half
Given the fairly lackadaisical defensive lapses from previous games in Champions League and Bundesliga play, it was a bit of a surprise seeing the Bavarians this structured against PSG’s imposing attacking trio. Bayern did particularly well staying defensively cohesive as a unit, and then relentlessly pressing the PSG midfield and defense whenever they sensed the slightest hint of insecurity.
They were patient and picked their chances to pressure PSG off the ball. With that, chances gradually came. They were rewarded quite early. Less than 10 minutes in, Robert Lewandowski broke the deadlock. Franck Ribery — in his recent return — found a break down the left, setting James Rodriguez loose. The Colombian whipped in a cross that was headed down by Kingsley Coman to Lewandowski.
The Polish striker made no mistake from his onside position, controlled the ball, turned and finally slid it into the bottom right corner. Just like that, Bayern were in a surprisingly positive position very early on. And the rewards wouldn’t end there.
Later into the half, James was an inspiration yet again. His form has been great, and it showed again here. Finding himself with room on the left-flank, he looped in an immaculate cross right to the head of Corentin Tolisso. The Frenchman hammered home the header into the bottom left corner to send Bayern into halftime 2-0 up.
Slightly more hectic second-half opening, but Bayern overcome
The first-half ended with PSG naturally pushing hard to pull one back before the break. This carried over quickly into the second-half. The home side was too comfortable in the early minutes of the second 45, and PSG clawed one back via Kylian Mbappe’s head.
Bayern Munich let up with a lazy piece of defense in the penalty box. Sebastian Rudy was easily caught ball watching and let Mbappe freely slip in to meet a great chipped pass from Edinson Cavani. The French rising star promptly nodded home the header to put PSG back in the game.
Bayern were now a little more on edge, and the passing tempo dropped to a degree. However, the Bavarian giants managed to regain their heads after another defensive fault and round off the win. With the last 20 minutes looming, Bayern inspired another sucker-punch on their opponents.
Kingsley Coman received the ball on the left-flank of the pitch for a great run on goal. The young winger completely skinned Dani Alves with a wonderful display of technical control on the touchline, giving him all the space in the world. Coman streaked down the field with blistering pace, playing in a return-pass to the oncoming Coco Tolisso to smash home Bayern’s third and his second.
Man of the match:
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) December 5, 2017
Kingsley Coman:
2 Assists, 2 Shots, 60 Touches, 80% Pass accuracy, 4 Dribbles, 1 Key pass, 3 Tackes, 4 Crosses pic.twitter.com/vxAf1dOAQH
The French duo arguably had the best of performances on the pitch. Both players seem to be only growing in confidence with each passing match.
Next: Bayern Munich get their revenge in 3-1 win over PSG -- Player grades
Going forward with confidence
The German have plenty of positives to take out of this match. Given the circumstances, getting a good result here was always going to be difficult for Bayern Munich, even at home. Expectations were surely high after the reverse fixture. Once again, should Bayern go forward with this growth in form, and finally solve their defensive bug, the next big knock-out match against Dortmund could look good for the Bavarian club.