Goals: Paris Saint Germain – Bayern Munich – Played on 02/14/2023
Bayern Munich defeated Paris Saint-Germain, 1-0, today, Tuesday, in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16.
Kingsley Coman scored the only goal of the match in the 53rd minute so that the French player would repeat what he did with his old club, in the Champions League final, in 2020.
The German giants deserved victory thanks to their superiority technically, tactically, and physically, as well as at the level of possession, to enhance their chances of qualifying for the round of 8 before the return match on March 8, in the midst of their fans, at the Allianz Arena.
The visitors grabbed the lead very early on, with Choupo Moting hitting the post after less than 30 seconds.
The Bavarian giants took advantage of the situation well, but the attempts and shots of Kingsley Coman, Sani, and Pavard were not accurate enough on the Parisian goal.
While it was the most dangerous attempt, a rebound ball on the edge of the penalty area, Joshua Kimmich met it with a powerful shot, and Donnarumma caught it in the 42nd minute.
On the other hand, Saint-Germain did not pose any danger throughout the first half and did not succeed at all in exploiting the counterattacks, and its stars, Messi and Neymar, disappeared with the axes Soler and Zair Emery.
The German team’s defense trio, Upamecano, Pavard, and De Ligt, was characterized by strength, so their teammate, Jan Somer, goalkeeper, was the guest of honor in the first 45 m inutes.
At the start of the second half, each team made a substitution, as Kimpembe took the place of Ashraf Hakimi, while Alfonso Davies entered instead of Joao Cancelo.
The Bavarian giant translated his superiority after only 8 minutes, as Alfonso Davies played a cross, which Koeman met with his foot in the net, refusing to celebrate afterward, out of appreciation for the feelings of the fans of his old team.
Saint-Germain coach Christophe Gallete quickly made two substitutions at once, as Kylian Mbappe and Fabian Ruiz replaced Soler and Zayer Emery.
The Parisian giants almost received a knockout blow, but its goalkeeper Donnarumma saved 3 real chances, by stopping two attempts from Choupo Moting, and a header from Benjamin Pavard.
In the 73rd minute, the hosts missed the most dangerous opportunities, as Mbappe was alone in the goal, but he hit the ball into the body of the goalkeeper, Jan Sumer, before it rebounded to Neymar, to hit the bodies of the defenders.
Vitenia participated in the place of Danilo Pereira, to revive the Parisian center, while the duo Thomas Muller and Serge Gnabry entered the place of Koeman and Choupo Moting, to renew the blood of the Bavarian attack.
The match caught fire in the last quarter of an hour, as Thomas Muller threatened the Parisian goal with a shot over the crossbar.
The Parisian response was stronger, as Mbappe scored a goal in the 82nd minute, but video technology intervened and indicated an offside pass against Nuno Mendes.
A few minutes later, Nuno Mendes launched a new attack and passed a ball that Messi met directly with his foot, but Goritska saved the situation at perfect timing, after which Vitinia hit a dangerous ball into the arms of goalkeeper Sumer.
The referee counted 4 minutes of stoppage time, at the beginning of which Benjamin Pavard won the second yellow card, to be expelled from the stadium, after a violent intervention against Leo Messi, but the owners of the land did not take advantage of the numerical shortage in the last minutes so that the match ended with a valuable advantage for Bayern.
