PSG secured a historic 5-4 victory over FC Bayern in a thrilling encounter. This means the Munich club will need to score even more goals in the second leg, a task they shouldn’t struggle with.
Before the match, huge paintings of Napoleon’s victorious troops in a battle against the Prussians adorned the stands. With this choreography, the Paris Saint-Germain fans revealed the grand scale at which they envisioned this Champions League semi-final.
At least in a figurative sense, the players of both teams brought this ambitious vision to life, painting a footballing battle scene for the history books on the pitch of the Prinzenpark.
«5-4! The highest-scoring Champions League semi-final in history.» The English publication *The Sun* called it the ‘Game of the Century,’ Spanish *Mundo Deportivo* referred to it as a ‘Football Masterpiece,’ and French *Le Figaro* described it as a ‘Top-Class Football Spectacle,’ a ‘game that will go down in Champions League history.’
PSG coach Luis Enrique simply stated: ‘That was the best game I’ve experienced as a coach.’ And Enrique has witnessed his fair share of great matches, including two victorious Champions League finals. Just a year ago, his team dismantled Inter Milan 5-0 in the final in Munich.
Michael Olise, Harry Kane, and Luis Diaz Break the 100-Goal Mark
FC Bayern took an early 1-0 lead, then fell behind, before drawing level at 2-2. At the start of the second half, they suddenly found themselves trailing 2-5. ‘It’s very remarkable to stay calm and come back,’ said Joshua Kimmich afterwards. ‘In recent years, we would have crumbled.’ But this time, the Munich team didn’t crumble; instead, they reduced the deficit to 4-5, leaving everything to play for in the second leg next Wednesday.
FC Bayern possesses incredible mentality this season and the simple certainty that they can always score. Michael Olise, Harry Kane, and Luis Diaz form one of the most dangerous attacking trios in recent football history. They have long deserved their own acronym: OKD, reminiscent of MSN (Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar) at FC Barcelona or BBC (Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo) at Real Madrid.
Especially now, in the crucial phase of the season, OKD is delivering in an impressive manner. Just like in the quarter-final second leg against Real, all three scored again. Together, Olise, Kane, and Diaz have now reached 100 goals for the season. Their closest pursuers are Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, and Federico Valverde of Real Madrid with 69.
Remarkable Statistics on FC Bayern’s Five Goals Conceded
The fact that Bayern lost despite scoring four goals is, of course, due to the five goals conceded – and these are equally telling of the current situation. Against Real, the aggregate score after both legs was 6-4. On Saturday, they came back from 0-3 down to win 4-3 against FSV Mainz 05. In their last 15 matches, Bayern has kept a clean sheet only three times and conceded at least two goals seven times.
Under coach Vincent Kompany, FC Bayern defends extremely high and man-oriented, which demands maximum fitness and concentration – and is bitterly punished for the slightest mistakes, as was the case in Paris. With all their individual quality, the hosts managed to score five goals from just five shots on target and an xG of 1.91, against which Manuel Neuer was powerless. For the first time since 2010, a goalkeeper conceded five goals in a Champions League knockout round without making a single save.
Two of these goals came from set pieces, a recurring weakness this season. It apparently doesn’t help when the set-piece coach acts as interim head coach. Aaron Danks, as is known, stood on the sidelines in place of the suspended Vincent Kompany.
FC Bayern: Max Eberl Hopes for Even More Goals
So, what should be done looking ahead to the second leg? Should the system perhaps be adjusted?
‘Why are we here?’ asked Sporting Director Max Eberl, looking around the stadium (Prinzenpark, Champions League semi-final against the defending champions) and immediately answering his own question: ‘Because we’ve played football like this so far. To suddenly change the entire game now would be completely absurd.’ Eberl then uttered the wonderful, but after a 4-5 defeat, also somewhat insane sentence: ‘In the second leg, we need to finish the situations we create up front, and we create many, many, many, more cleanly.’
According to this logic, the reason FC Bayern lost 4-5 was not the five goals conceded. It was the meager four goals scored (by the way, with an xG of 2.51). Why not six? Or eight? Or ten? PSG coach Enrique recounted asking his team in the locker room after the final whistle how many goals they thought would be needed in the second leg to advance. ‘They said: at least three.’
Regardless of whether FC Bayern finishes this season with a third treble, a double, or just the league title, this team will undoubtedly go down in club history as one of the most spectacular.