Bayern Munich triumphed over Paris Saint-Germain at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday evening in the fifth round of the Champions League roller coaster, courtesy of a solitary strike from Kim Min-jae.
The South Korean defender took advantage of an apparent mistake from PSG goalkeeper Matvei Safonov to head into the empty net in the 38th minute, and the visitors’ problems were compounded in the 56th, when winger Ousmane Dembele got his marching orders through a second yellow card.
The teams
With Manuel Neuer in goal, Kim was joined by Dayot Upamecano in Bayern’s centre-back area, flanked by Konrad Laimer and Alphonso Davies. Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka paired up in the middle of the park, while the trio of Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala and Kingsley Coman supported Harry Kane in attack.
Meanwhile, the visitors had Safonov between the posts as Gianluigi Donnarumma remained on the bench. Willian Pacho and Marqinhos were in the heart of defence, with Nuno Mendes on the left and Achraf Hakimi on the right. Fabian Ruiz, Joao Neves, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery were deployed in a flat-four midfield. There were no natural strikers in the starting XI, as Dembele joined fellow winger Bradley Barcola up front, despite the likes of Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani being a part of the matchday squad.
The game recap
Bayern started strong, and they had their first real chance in the seventh minute after their pressing in the opposition half bore fruit. Having won the ball and engaged Coman on the right, Musiala received a fine pass from Kimmich and fired from inside the box, forcing a save from Safonov. The PSG goalkeeper was called into action again six minutes later when he had to stop a tricky low effort from Sane. Coman was next to come close after a dazzling solo run into the box, but his subsequent shot fizzled off target.
PSG finally responded in the 28th minute, when Dembele got the better of Kim inside the box and forced a great save from Neuer, and Neves fired the rebound from 20 yards just wide.
Things started going downhill for the visitors in the 37th minute. Bayern were awarded a corner and Dembele protested a decision from referee Istvan Kovacs, unwisely getting himself booked. Kimmich took the corner eventually, Safonov came for it and fumbled, giving Kim a clear sight of goal at five yards, and Bayern had the lead.
PSG pushed a little harder from that point on but they were almost punished for it in the 41st minute as Neuer’s long ball found the run of Coman in behind. It was Hakimi who raced back and put just enough pressure on the Bayern winger to force him to shoot over the bar. Bayern increased the pressure again in the first-half stoppage time and Coman won the ball, and after Sane saw his effort blocked, Kimmich fired on target, forcing Safonov into a good save. Sane managed to hit the target himself in the final seconds after some good work from Musiala, Coman and Kane, but Safonov was equal to the quality of the shot.
After the break, PSG intensified their efforts to get level again, but once more it turned to their undoing. In the 56th minute, they worked up a nice position for Dembele to shoot but the shot was blocked, and as he tried to recover the ball, the winger caught Davies on the ankle. The referee didn’t give the foul straight away, but he quickly changed his mind, and having blown the whistle, he showed Dembele a second yellow card without a second’s thought, condemning the Ligue 1 champions to play the rest of the match with 10 men.
It wasn’t too difficult for Bayern to control the flow of the game from there. They mostly kept the ball in the opposition half and came close to scoring a second goal through Coman, Musiala, and substitutes Michael Olise and Thomas Muller. The best chance PSG had to snatch a point came to Neves in the 85th minute, but his shot flew over the bar.
Questionable decisions
Bayern were the better team and could have easily added to Kim’s goal, but it has to be said that the Romanian referee made some questionable calls. Safonov certainly should’ve done better in the situation which led to the goal, but he was under considerable contact from Musiala and it could easily have been given as a foul on the goalkeeper.
Also, the tackle which led to Dembele’s second yellow card was not that bad, certainly not as bad as Davies made it look, and the former Barcelona man was obviously going for the ball. It was a foul, no questions there, but the decision to give a second yellow card for that was arguably harsh.
The aftermath
This victory means Bayern now have nine points to their name and are 11th in the new-format table, still not a very good record from five games in the competition, but they’ve moved a lot closer to the top eight and harbour realistic hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages without the need for play-offs. Their remaining matches, away to Shakhtar Donetsk (on neutral ground) and Feyenoord, as well as at home against Slovan Bratislava, shouldn’t prove too difficult to navigate successfully.
Meanwhile, still on four points, PSG have sunk to place 26, two below the red line, and the danger of elimination from the Champions League appears to be hitting Luis Enrique’s team hard at the moment. They face RB Salzburg in Austria next, before welcoming Premier League champions Manchester City to the Parc des Princes. They end the group stage in Stuttgart.
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