Jonathan Liew was at the Allianz Arena tonight, and his verdict is in. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Post-match analysis. “PSG have underperformed for the nth time. Money can’t buy you love. And not even the Champions League. Best player on the pitch. Not Leo Messi but Musiala. Sublimely gifted. What a shame he isn’t going to play for England” – Colum Fordham
“Goodbye Christophe Galtier. Goodbye Kylian Mbappe. Goodbye Neymar. And most likely goodbye Lionel Messi” – Kurt Perleberg
A fan races onto the pitch, slips, and nearly takes out Lionel Messi. He misses his ankles by inches, before being smothered by stewards. That so nearly added injury to insult for Messi on yet another dismal European night for PSG. It’s just not happening for them, is it. Sergio Ramos storms off with a face on. Not sure what he’s so animated about, but if nothing else it’s a picture that will amuse most of Europe. The French champions offered little and once again face a painful Champions League debrief. Bayern Munich weren’t at their best, but they fully deserved their victory in this tie, and good luck to whoever draws them in the next round.
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FULL TIME: Bayern Munich 2-0 PSG (agg: 3-0)
Bayern are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League! PSG bow out meekly yet again.
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90 min +4: Sane slaloms down the middle and slides a pass down the inside-left channel for Mane, who whips a shot into the bottom right … but doesn’t bother celebrating, because he knows he was a yard offside.
90 min +3: Sane slips a pass towards Mane down the middle. Donnarumma smothers at Mane’s feet. Having just come back from injury, Mane wasn’t going to go in for a 50-50 there.
90 min +1: Davies has a whack from a tight angle on the left. Donnarumma does well to parry and stop this scoreline turning ugly for PSG.
90 min: There will be five added minutes, though PSG just want to go home now. Here’s Jeff Sax ready to riff on their pain: “All that money and they cannot score one goal in three hours?!?! Pathetic.”
GOAL! Bayern Munich 2-0 PSG (Gnabry 89); agg 3-0
Kimmich brushes Verratti off the ball with absurd ease near the Bayern box, then launches a counter. Cancelo eats up plenty of turf, then slips the ball wide left for Gnabry, who enters the box, draws Donnarumma, and lifts a decisive shot over the keeper and into the net.
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88 min: Zaire-Emery makes good down the left and cuts back for Mbappe … who is denied by a sensational challenge from Davies. And then …
87 min: Gnabry and Cancelo come on for Coman and Muller.
86 min: No booking for Ramos, incidentally. A yellow would have seen him suspended for the first leg of the quart… yeah.
85 min: Muller knocks the ball past Ramos but he was offside. Ramos reacts by shoving him in the chest and knocking him to the floor. It’s always pantomime season when Sergio’s in town!
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84 min: Bayern are happy to sit back. PSG aren’t threatening to carve out another chance.
82 min: … and Sadio Mane replaces Jamal Musiala. Then the corner comes in, and Ramos flashes it inches wide left! That would have put a new spin on things.
81 min: The match appears to be petering out until Mbappe suddenly shifts through the gears and wins a corner down the right. Before it can be taken, Hugo Ekitike and Juan Bernat come on for Vitinha and Nuno Mendes …
79 min: Coman tears into acres down the right. He curls low into the box. Sane gets in ahead of Danilo, but can’t sort his feet out to get a shot on target. Goal kick, though had he scored, there might have been a decision to make about offside anyway.
78 min: A reminder that Bayern haven’t tasted defeat at the Allianz for 13 months. As if PSG’s problems aren’t big enough already.
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76 min: Warren Zaïre-Emery, who turned 17 today, comes on for Fabián Ruiz.
75 min: Sane dribbles this way and that, down the left flank and into the PSG box. He can’t get past Ramos, though, and slips in an attempt to hit the target from 12 yards. Goal kick.
74 min: A bit of space for Mendes, 25 yards out in a pocket on the left. He looks for Ramos with a floated diagonal pass, but gets it all wrong and it sails out for a goal kick.
72 min: Bayern are probing for the goal that would surely kill this tie for good. Davies, Muller and Coman attempt to open up PSG down the inside-left channel, but the ball sits up as Coman tries to force it through and flies out for a goal kick.
70 min: The corner’s worked long and Goretzka has a whack from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. The shot is fierce, but also easily blocked.
69 min: A PSG corner from the left this time. Mendes takes. Messi attempts to shoot from the edge of the box but is crowded out. Suddenly Bayern are three on two! Sane has the chance of feeding Davies into the box down the right, but misplaces the pass; it’s deflected, and he has to settle for a corner.
68 min: Choupo-Moting makes way for Leroy Sane.
67 min: A snapshot by Mbappe from a tight angle on the left. Easy for Sommer. PSG have gone up a gear, though. They’ve little choice.
65 min: Messi takes another corner, but PSG over-elaborate this time and soon find themselves pushed back into their own half. Bayern survive the immediate post-goal storm.
64 min: Another corner for PSG out on the right. Messi curls it long towards Ramos, who aims a fine header towards the top right. Sommer sticks out a strong arm to parry and turn the ball away for another corner! That had goal written all over it.
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63 min: PSG attempt to hit back immediately, but a corner swung in from the right by Hakimi is punched clear by Sommer.
GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-0 PSG (Choupo-Moting 61); agg 2-0
Bitshiabu, playing out from the left-back position, puts Verratti in all sorts of trouble with a hospital pass. Muller robs Verratti and shuttles forward for Goretzka, who draws Donnarumma before rolling towards Choupo-Moting to his left. Choupo-Moting rolls home, and this one will stand!
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60 min: Goretzka has a dig from distance. His shot is deflected wide left. Kimmich takes the resulting corner, and Goretzka heads harmlessly over.
58 min: Confirmation from Uefa that Muller made a move for the ball while in an offside position, and so, though he didn’t get a touch, was judged to have been active. A penny for Choupo-Moting’s thoughts. We have a pretty good idea about Nagelsmann’s.
56 min: A minor brouhaha on the touchline as Julian Nagelsmann tells it the way he sees it. The subject of his ire, no doubt, being the disallowed goal. A few members of PSG’s staff plus a couple of officials have their ears bent.
55 min: Both teams take a metaphorical breather as they process that drama.
NO GOAL! Bayern Munich 0-0 PSG (agg 1-0)
53 min: Scrub that. VAR gets involved, and decides Muller, ahead of Choupo-Moting, got a little something on the ball to help it on. He was in an offside position, so the goal’s chalked off. Got to say, there didn’t seem much in the way of deviation in the ball’s flight, but on the other hand, Muller doesn’t argue too much, so perhaps he knows he got a nick. Either way, PSG get away with one!
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GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-0 PSG (Choupo-Moting 52); agg 2-0
Davies hares down the right. Davies cuts back for Musiala, who curls a magnificent ball in for Choupo-Moting. He glances a header into the bottom right and wheels off in delight!
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51 min: Out on the left wing, Musiala steals a ball he had no right to win and tears off upfield. He slips Choupo-Moting into the box, but the striker hesitates before shooting and is crowded out. The ball breaks back to Kimmich, who belts a shot goalwards only to hit the clumsy Choupo-Moting … and as a result the flag goes up for offside. A bad moment for Choupo-Moting, but no matter, because …
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49 min: A little bit of pinball on the edge of the Bayern box. The ball breaks to Mbappe who spins and aims for the bottom right, all in one smooth movement, only to see his effort blocked the second it comes off his boot.
48 min: Donnarumma scuffs a simple clearance. Muller picks up possession just to the right of the D, but inexplicably turns down the chance to shoot. He crosses to nobody in particular and the chance is gone.
47 min: Davies busies himself down the left. Verratti attempts to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick, but over-estimates the pace of the ball. Davies should keep it in and race along the byline, but seems surprised at the opportunity and shins it out for a goal kick.
Bayern get the second half underway. PSG have made a change, and it’s an eyebrow-raising one: Nordi Mukiele, who only came on for Marquinhos nine minutes before the break, is replaced by 17-year-old El Chadaille Bitshiabu. Mukiele has been troubled with a hamstring problem, so that may well have resurfaced.
More half-time analysis. “It’s a really interesting game,” insists Joe Cole on BT Sport, though you can tell his heart’s not really in it. Not least because, as football adjectives go, “interesting” always has to do an awful lot of heavy lifting, doesn’t it.
Meanwhile Kári Tulinius adds: “I think Nagelsmann and Galtier misread each other. Both expected the other team to attack more, Bayern because they’re at home and PSG because they’re chasing. I expect Galtier to blink first, because if nothing changes, that will be that, for his Champions League dreams and probably his job.”
And finally here’s Jorge Valdano David Hindle: “Proper shit on a stick. No better description. But reassuringly expensive shit on a stick. At least that.”
Half-time analysis.
HALF TIME: Bayern Munich 0-0 PSG (agg: 1-0)
A thrilling half of top-drawer football.
45 min: Davies goes haring down the left but Hakimi brushes him off the ball. The board goes up for two added minutes. A blessed relief it’s not any more: both of these teams could do with the half-time whistle and some beneficial advice with a view to raising their game.
43 min: De Ligt miskicks in the centre circle, allowing Messi to ping a speculative long pass down the middle. It only just evades Mbappe on the edge of the box.
42 min: Ramos ships possession, allowing Davies to slither this way and that, into the PSG box from the left. Davies shoots low and hard. The ball’s turned around the post for a corner, from which nothing comes. Chances at both ends, albeit not as a result of quality football.
40 min: A slight suggestion that Sommer impeded Vitinha just before the shot went in on goal, but there wasn’t enough contact for either referee or VAR to be interested. To be fair, PSG didn’t exactly complain too much.
38 min: De Ligt gets his goalkeeper out of a huge hole! Sommer attempts to dribble out of his box when a pass upfield – or better still, a blooter away from danger – was the wise play. Hakimi, on his shoulder, pressures him into gifting the ball to Vitinha, who rolls past the keeper towards the unguarded goal. What a farce! But De Ligt slides in at the last to hook clear off the line. What a clearance! What a brain fade by Sommer!
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37 min: Hakimi one-twos with Verratti down the right. A bit of space for Hakimi, but the resulting cross is aimless and easily cleared by the hosts.
36 min: Marquinhos is replaced by Nordi Mukiele. He departs holding his left hip and grimacing.
35 min: Marquinhos is down on his knees. It doesn’t look as though he’s going to be able to continue. A pained look on the PSG captain’s face, with plenty of activity on the bench.
34 min: Instead of swinging a high free kick into the mixer, Kimmich tries to catch Donnarumma out with a surprising low drive towards the bottom right. The keeper claims. Still, a decent idea, not least because any nick on the way through could have easily deflected past the PSG keeper.
33 min: Kimmich takes. Danilo heads clear. But Bayern come again, through Coman on the right. He drops a shoulder then goes over the hanging leg of Mendes. A free kick and a chance for Bayern to load the box.
32 min: Davies dribbles dangerously in from the left. He enters the box before slipping a cute ball down the channel for Musiala, who batters a low shot goalwards from a tight angle. Donnarumma gets down to save well, at the expense of a corner.
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30 min: Bayern ping it around patiently before releasing Musiala down the right. There are options in red in the middle, but Musiala shanks an awful crossfield pass, intended for Davies out on the left, out of play. Groans from the home supporters. Their heroes aren’t on their game at the moment.
28 min: PSG have enjoyed 56 percent of possession, and made four attempts at goal to Bayern’s one.
26 min: Mendes crosses into the Bayern box from the left. Messi slips, six yards out, but bounces back up and attempts to fire home from a tight angle. Sommer stands firm to block and gather. Bayern counter through Coman down the right. Coman gets a yard on Ramos before whipping a cross into the mixer. There’s only Choupo-Moting there, though, and Donnarumma intercepts.
24 min: Davies tiptoes along the left touchline, past a couple of challenges, and has Musiala in space ahead of him. But the whistle inexplicably goes for a throw-in, even though some of the ball was clearly still in play. Frustrating for Bayern.
22 min: Muller fires a pass down the inside-right channel for Choupo-Moting, who fails to control. Had he trapped a simple pass and turned, he’d have been able to send Musiala free down the middle. A few opportunities are beginning to open up, but nobody’s created a chance with one of them yet.
20 min: Davies has the opportunity to release Choupo-Moting down the inside left but hesitates and loses possession. PSG counter at speed, Messi barging his way down the middle and riding a couple of hard challenges before forcing the ball through to Mbappe, who briefly looks like tearing clear … but takes a heavy touch to the right, pushing himself way wide. He still manages to slam a shot from a tight angle into the side netting, but Sommer had it covered.
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18 min: Hakimi knocks the ball past De Ligt on the right and wins the footrace. Davies comes across to cover at the expense of a corner. Messi takes it long, and Sommer plucks it from the sky without too much fuss. This game hasn’t quite got going yet.
16 min: Kimmich takes up possession 30 yards from goal and slips a pass right for Goretzka, who whistles a low drive towards the bottom right. He gives it a good pelt, and the grass is greasy with the rain, but Donnarumma gets down and handles well.
14 min: Mbappe has the ball in the Bayern net, but it’s not going to be allowed. A long punt down the middle nearly finds the PSG striker on the edge of the box. But he clanks into Sommer and skittles him to the floor, before rounding the keeper and rolling home. The whistle had already gone for a foul.
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13 min: Choupo-Moting dribbles down the inside-left channel before gliding infield and into traffic. Bayern have achieved nothing of note in the PSG final third yet, those aforementioned crosses from Davies and Coman apart.
11 min: Verratti spins smoothly into space down the middle and sets PSG off on the attack. Messi slips a pass wide right for Hakimi, who crosses deep. Too deep. Goal kick. A better cross, and Bayern could have been in a spot of bother there.
9 min: Mbappe drops a shoulder and turns on the jets in an attempt to get past Upamecano down the left. The big Bayern defender holds his line firmly, though, and Mbappe runs the ball out for a goal kick. “If you’ve not been watching Bayern much, keep an eye on Upemecano,” writes Julian Menz. “He’s feisty to say the least, always good for a rash challenge and a card. His name is reminiscent of a child’s toy, and sometimes it’s apt.”
7 min: PSG stroke it around the middle of the park for 30 seconds or so, then drop deeper and stroke it around the back awhile. They’re seeing more of the ball during these opening exchanges.
5 min: Mendes comes sliding in on Coman out on the Bayern right. He catches the top of the ball first, then nearly crumps his studs into his opponent’s ankle. Fortunately for both, not much by way of connection is made.
3 min: Davies crosses from the left. Coman swings one in from the right. Bayern looking dangerous down both flanks. Not in the centre yet, though.
2 min: Some respectful early probing. The finding of feet. Then suddenly Mbappe flicks to Ruiz down the left. Mbappe keeps going on the outside and gets the ball back. He enters the box and takes the first shot in anger, but it’s straight at Sommer by the near post. An easy claim.
Bayern Munich v PSG (agg: 1-0)
Thomas Müller and Marquinhos exchange pennants, toss coins and clasp hands, then PSG get the ball rolling. A fine atmosphere in the Fußball Arena München.
The teams are out! Bayern wear their red shirts, while PSG sport their third-choice white with broad blue stripe running down the middle. Think the classic 1970s Birmingham City effort, but in reverse. Zadok the Priest (Version) blasts out of the speakers. Rain pours from the Munich heavens. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
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Politics corner. “Shout out to Gary Lineker. Well done” – Jeff Sax.
Meanwhile over in Munich, local fans wave a banner picturing Bayern legend (and bratwurst manufacturer) Uli Hoeness metaphorically chopping off “the long arm of Qatar”, whose state airline appears to be one of the club’s less popular business partners.
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Bayern Munich are coming off the back of a 2-1 win at Stuttgart last Saturday, their 16th win in 20 matches, and as ever they’re currently top of the Bundesliga. But they’ve not quite been at their dominant best this season, and having drawn seven and lost two of their 23 league games, are only ahead of Borussia Dortmund on goal difference. Admittedly that difference is a whopping 25 goals, but the point stands: the title race in Germany is closer than usual.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 23 | 44 | 49 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 23 | 19 | 49 |
| 3 | Union Berlin | 23 | 8 | 44 |
| 4 | RB Leipzig | 23 | 17 | 42 |
| 5 | Freiburg | 23 | 3 | 42 |
PSG meanwhile beat Nantes 4-2 at the Parc des Princes last weekend. Their story in Ligue 1 is a little bit more predictable – they’re eight points clear of Marseille at the top – though they too aren’t quite their usual relentless selves this season, as illustrated by three consecutive defeats at the start of last month in the Coupe de France, Ligue 1 and the Champions League, by Marseille, Monaco and Bayern respectively.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSG | 26 | 41 | 63 |
| 2 | Marseille | 26 | 24 | 55 |
| 3 | Monaco | 26 | 19 | 51 |
| 4 | Lens | 26 | 19 | 51 |
| 5 | Rennes | 26 | 16 | 46 |
If history teaches us anything, Bayern Munich are as good as through already. That’s because they’ve lost just one of the 27 European ties in which they’ve won away in the first leg. That outlier: Internazionale doing for them at this stage of the 2010-11 Champions League, winning 3-2 in Germany after Bayern won 1-0 at San Siro. Conversely, PSG have lost the first leg at home on six previous occasions and have gone on to lose every single tie. Bof. Previous results only carry so much weight, though, so the MBM’s not going to shut up shop yet. You never know.
Four players, two from each side, are walking the disciplinary tightrope tonight. Bayern duo Joshua Kimmich and Noussair Mazraoui, and PSG’s Marco Verratti and, surprise surprise, Sergio Ramos, are one booking away from a one-match European ban. Should any of them see yellow tonight, they’ll not play in the first leg of the quarter-final should their team make it through.
Bayern make three changes to the side selected to start their 1-0 win in Paris. Alphonso Davies, Josip Stanišić and captain Thomas Müller replace Leroy Sané and João Cancelo, who drop to the bench, and Benjamin Pavard, suspended as a result of crashing into Lionel Messi at the Parc des Princes.
PSG also make three changes to the starting XI they picked that night three weeks ago. Kylian Mbappé, Fabián Ruiz and Vitinha come in for Carlos Soler and Warren Zaïre-Emery, who drop to the bench, and the injured Neymar.
The teams
Bayern Munich: Sommer, Stanisic, Upamecano, De Ligt, Davies, Kimmich, Goretzka, Coman, Muller, Musiala, Choupo-Moting.
Subs: Ulreich, Gnabry, Sane, Wanner, Mane, Sarr, Cancelo, Blind, Gravenberch, Tel, Mazrqoui, Ibrahimovic.
Paris Saint-Germain: Donnarumma, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ramos, Danilo, Nuno Mendes, Verratti, Vitinha, Fabian, Messi, Mbappe.
Subs: Letellier, Rico, Bernat, Sanches, Mukiele, Soler, Pembele, Bitshiabu, Zaïre-Emery, Gharbi, Ekitike.
Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy).
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 🆚 @PSG_English
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 8, 2023
Our team for tonight's second leg ⚔️#packmas #UCL #FCBPSG pic.twitter.com/JKdzOWVNPb
🆗 The Parisian starting lineup for the Champions League round of 16 2nd leg! 🔴🔵#FCBPSG I @EASPORTSFIFA pic.twitter.com/hsCZatnocj
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 8, 2023
Preamble
Three weeks ago this happened …
… and PSG are in their annual Champions League pickle. Will the biggest prize in club football remain tantalisingly out of their reach for yet another year? Or can they stun the six-time champions in their own back yard to turn this tie around and reach the quarters? Kick off is at 8pm GMT, 9pm in Munich. It’s on!
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