Bayern Munich has reached the proverbial mountaintop of Europe, winning the UEFA Champions League 2020 final over Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday 1-0. The German giants defeated their French enemies in a game with low scores. But one goal is all you need in a final.
After 59 minutes, a mistake by the home side’s left defense allowed Kingsley Coman to get through. His dominance on the left wing crept up on PSG all night, and he finally got a chance when Joshua Kimmich swept in beauty to the unmarked former Parisian, who passed the ball past Keylor Navas.
For Bayern, the win ends a seven-year drought since they last lifted the UCL trophy, and it is the sixth European title in their club’s history. Perhaps even more remarkable, they won every game in their Champions League campaign, and became the first club to ever do so in the history of competition. For PSG, it’s a disappointing end to a game of wasted chances. But there are still positives to take away from an impressive campaign that took the French side to the Champions League final for the first time in club history.
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Kingsley Coman becomes the hero
Of course, we start here with the winning goal. A former member of PSG’s junior team, Kingsley Coman may have taken an unconventional method of putting Kimmich’s cross in the box – closing your eyes so early is not exactly what was learned – but what matters is ultimately the result that came out. No one could reach the ball, and it ended up being all Bayern needed to win.
Neuer avoids an early PSG lead
Sure, PSG had their chances to score in the first half of this game, and they ruined them all. But a good amount of credit would have to go to Neuer, whose goal was a big reason why the Parisians were kept at bay. Said point, this unbelievable whole save from the German keeper, who stopped Neymar from breaking the deadlock.
Neuer’s legs are getting big again
The German goalkeeper was called up again in the second half when another great opportunity presented itself to PSG. Marquinhos took a great back pass from Angel Di Maria and got an open chance on goal that might have been more clinical, but his shot was still good enough to request another big save from Neuer’s legs. It shows that the last line of defense of the team stood high as it should.
Remarkable performances
Let us consider some of the notable performances of the day, with one being the worst and 10 perfection:
Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich
An absolutely amazing saving on Neymar early on. Trusted as can be and made several key savings. A hero. Rating: 9
Joshua Kimmich, Bayern Munich
That, so good. He is so versatile and does everything right. Was a leader at the back to keep the backline organized and had a great assist for Coman. Rating: 9
Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain
Early on had a golden opportunity but was denied by Neuer. Other than that, had very little impact on the game. Bayern’s defense was ready. Rating: 5
Takeaways
Bayern’s plan worked
This game went exactly how Bayern wanted. They limited PSG’s attack by dominating possession, their pressure in the last third resulted in PSG taking a while to get into the game, and tackling when it meant the most was great. Joshua Kimmich showed a superstar, marked by an assist and the key approach on Kylian Mbappe in the second half. Defensively, if Neymar gets just one good look at goal, it’s been a good day.
Neymar tried too much, too often
Hard work on the part of the star player of a team is apparently a difficult thing to criticize, but part of the talent that the best of the world always has is the ability to make appropriate decisions at the right time. The Brazilian winger played as he did in the second half against Atalanta, where he tried to win the game on his own. It worked to some extent against the Italians, but against this German side it led to a lot of stealth and times when he shot the ball into the shot instead of making the extra pass. Yes, the defense was stubborn, but Neymar did not help things with his decision to control too much of the game. It’s an unfortunate reality, because he gave so much on the field, and he was understandably upset about the loss after the fact.
Bayern Munich 1, PSG 0 (FINAL)
AyBavaria: Coman (59 ‘)
