FC Bayern’s exit against Paris Saint-Germain was not due to conceding too many goals, but rather a failure of their record-breaking offense. This marks an unexpected end to a memorable duel with PSG.
A 5-4 aggregate score, the highest-scoring Champions League semi-final in history, dubbed the ‘Match of the Century’. Paris Saint-Germain and FC Bayern delivered a spectacle last Tuesday at the Parc des Princes in Paris, one that the football world hadn’t witnessed in a long time. And all indications pointed towards this spectacle simply continuing eight days later in Munich.
Protagonists from both teams dismissed discussions about potentially overly risky defensive strategies. Instead, they repeatedly insisted they wouldn’t deviate from their fundamental approach. They preferred to emphasize their strengths rather than dwell on potential weaknesses. In the meantime, PSG drew 2-2 in the league against FC Lorient, and FC Bayern drew 3-3 in the Bundesliga against 1. FC Heidenheim, the latter marking the conclusion of a week for the Bavarians with eleven goals conceded in three matches.
If they concede two, three, or four goals again in the second leg against PSG? Then they’ll just have to score three, four, or five – that’s where the failure won’t lie. This was FC Bayern’s mantra after the first-leg defeat. In that regard, Ousmane Dembélé’s early 0-1 goal was only a minor shock. Just another deficit, bring on the goals! Here we go again! FC Bayern now needed at least two, and the only question was: When would the first one come?
But then, nothing happened. Surprisingly, it was still 0-1 in the seventh minute of play, and still 0-1 in the ninth, at halftime, and even after 90 minutes. Only deep into stoppage time did Harry Kane score the equalizer. Late, too late. FC Bayern is out of the Champions League.
Manuel Neuer: ‘We simply weren’t killers today’
When asked what was missing for Munich in this second leg, Joshua Kimmich replied, ‘The goals.’ It’s simple, but for FC Bayern in these months, it’s a rather sensational, because completely new, problem. That the Bavarians fail due to conceding too many goals is understandable. But failing due to scoring too few of their own seemed unthinkable.
Michael Olise, Harry Kane, and Luis Díaz had recently been scoring as naturally as Uli Hoeneß serves apple pie. Here, a new Bundesliga goal record, there, the mark of a combined 100 goals surpassed. In total, FC Bayern has scored 175 goals in their 52 competitive matches this season, averaging well over three per game.
But precisely in the most crucial match, the Bavarians lacked their scoring prowess. It was only the fourth time this season they scored fewer than two goals in a game, and the first time in eleven matches. ‘We simply weren’t killers today,’ stated goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. ‘It wasn’t clear enough up front.’
Luis Enrique: ‘Today our defense was better than our offense’
Understandably, the Parisians exercised tactical prudence after taking an early lead, retreating somewhat and focusing on counter-attacks, which they either didn’t finish effectively or were thwarted by the outstanding Neuer. FC Bayern, meanwhile, besieged the opponent’s penalty area with a lot of possession – increasingly agitated by some controversial refereeing decisions, but also increasingly desperate.
Again and again, Luis Díaz, Michael Olise, and Jamal Musiala dribbled forward. Again and again, the subsequent crosses or shots were too imprecise. PSG did allow shots, but rarely from dangerous positions. FC Bayern’s total of 18 shots had a combined xG value of only 1.4 expected goals. Striker Harry Kane was locked in duels until his late goal and controlled many balls but posed no real threat.
‘We didn’t often have really clear-cut scoring chances where we could say: This is a sure goal,’ analyzed Neuer. The best chances were arguably missed by Olise (27th minute) and Jonathan Tah (45.+3). According to coach Vincent Kompany, PSG ‘defended the crosses and the space behind the defense incredibly well.’ Sporting director Max Eberl commented: ‘We never really had much time to break free. When we did manage it, we were back at the penalty area in no time and pushed them in there. But even there, they defended it perfectly.’
And so, Luis Enrique was ultimately able to make a similarly unusual judgment about his team as the Bavarians did about theirs. Enrique summarized: ‘Today our defense was better than our offense.’ Thanks to this impressive defensive performance, the Parisians will likely head into the final against FC Arsenal as even clearer favorites than if they had displayed another offensive masterclass.