In an intense encounter played down to the smallest of details, Paris Saint-Germain lost by the narrowest of margins to Bayern Munich in Germany on Tuesday evening (1-0). A look back at a big European evening that deserved a better outcome for the Parisians.
Three weeks after their cruel 1-2 defeat by Atlético Madrid at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain were back in the UEFA Champions League and facing another European giant: Bayern Munich. In a bid to topple the Bavarian giants, who have just recorded six consecutive clean sheets, Luis Enrique decided to field a central defensive pairing of captain Marquinhos and Willian Pacho in front of Matvey Safonov in goal. Nuno Mendes started at left-back, while Achraf Hakimi took his place on the right. The midfield was reinforced with the presence of four players: Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, Warren Zaïre-Emery and João Neves. Up front, the duo of Ousmane Dembélé and Bradley Barcola was selected.
Right from the off, the Bavarians put the Parisians under pressure by positioning themselves high up on the pitch. Accustomed to starting their matches strongly at their home ground, the German side were the first to have a chance through Jamal Musiala, but Matvey Safonov won the battle (7'). The capital club's response was immediate, with Ousmane Dembélé recovering the ball high up the pitch only to see his effort blocked by Leon Goretzka (8'). Despite the Bavarians' pressure and attacks, Paris were not afraid to play high up the pitch too, and to make life difficult for their opponents when playing it out from the back.
It was obviously a risky game plan when adopted on the pitch of one of the best teams in the competition, but it was in keeping with the Parisian philosophy. Although they were exposed to shots from the lively Leroy Sané (12‘), the Rouge et Bleu also threatened through Ousmane Dembélé (20’) and Warren Zaïre-Emery (29'). Moments later, it was the Paris No10 again who caused panic in the Bayern defence when he got past Kim, but Manuel Neuer proved decisive (32'). Just as doubts began to creep into the home side's camp, they took advantage of a corner and a clever move to catch out the Parisian defence and open the scoring with a header from Min-jae Kim (1-0, 38').
It was a blow for Paris, who then had to hold firm to resist the advances of Kingsley Coman (41') and Leroy Sané (45'+3). The Rouge et Bleu had to fight again, and they were back in the ascendancy after the break. In a match where the intensity of both teams was felt at every touch, a contentious decision was made to send off Ousmane Dembélé, who received a second yellow just as questionable as the first to change the course of the match (56'). The balance of power between the two sides was immediately tilted, and Luis Enrique was forced to adapt to this new tricky situation.
But even in the most difficult moments, the Parisians could count on the unfailing support of the 3,500 Rouge et Bleu fans to face the headwinds in Munich. Together, Marquinhos and his team-mates threw everything they had into the battle, with the rearguard refusing to give up in the face of attempts by Kingsley Coman (66') and Michael Olise (73'). The same was true of Paris goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, who tipped Jamal Musiala's shot onto his post to keep Paris in the game (74'). The Parisians were courageous, and the final quarter of an hour was more competitive than might have been expected.
However, it was always going to be difficult to find a way through the Bavarian defence with a man less. João Neves took his chance from the edge of the area, but his shot failed to hit the target (85'). At the end of a high-level encounter in which they matched their opponents on the night, Paris Saint-Germain lost by the narrowest of margins in Germany. The capital club will now have to get back down to business in the league, with their sights set on hosting FC Nantes this Saturday at the Parc des Princes (9pm) on Matchday 13 of Ligue 1. No doubt the Parisians will be keen to bounce back in front of their fans at the Parc.