Paris fall to Bayern after intense battle
Men's football•
After a hard-fought match, Paris Saint-Germain were unable to overcome their deficit against Bayern Munich (2-1). A look back at a prestigious European night at the Parc des Princes.
Two weeks after a resounding victory in Leverkusen (7-2), Paris Saint-Germain returned to the European stage to face another German club, Bayern Munich, in their Champions League Matchday 4 fixture. With Munich having won all 15 of their matches so far this season, the challenge looked daunting in an electric Parc des Princes. And it became even more so when Bayern took an early lead through Luis Díaz (0-1, 4').
But the Parisian crowd continued to cheer their team on, and the resolute Parisians quickly took control of the game. And, with Les Rouge et Bleus' first chance, Ousmane Dembélé thought he had equalised - only for his chested-in goal to be ruled out for offside (22'). The capital club kept pushing and Bradley Barcola, played into space behind the German defence, took the ball perfectly towards goal, forcing Manuel Neuer into a desperate save with his foot (30').
It was then Bayern's turn to attack, with Serge Gnabry testing Lucas Chevalier, who was saved by his posts (31'). But the second time was the charm for the Bavarians, Luis Díaz taking advantage of a loose ball on the edge of the Parisian area to double the lead (0-2, 32'). The Colombian international, who had been the star of the first half, was then sent off just before the break for a tackle from behind that forced Achraf Hakimi to leave the pitch injured (45+7').
In the second half, despite being a man and duly bossing possession, Luis Enrique's men struggled to create any danger against a compact and disciplined Munich side. It wasn't until after the hour-mark that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia managed to get into a shooting position and test Manuel Neuer once again (65'). Another opportunity followed shortly afterwards, Vitinha taking a chance from 20 metres out and also forcing Neuer into action (68').
As the pressure from Paris mounted, João Neves finally found the breakthrough with a superb volley from a Lee Kang-In cross (1-2, 74')! The Parc had never lost hope, and the crowd roared even louder as the game entered its final 15 minutes. Lee found Neves with another cross, and the Portuguese rose higher than everyone else - but headed the ball just wide of the post, with a relieved Neuer rooted to the spot (81').
Despite late attempts from Vitinha (86'), Kvaratskhelia (87') and Lee (90'), Paris Saint-Germain were unable to get back into the game and lost to the Bavarians by a single goal. Les Rouge et Bleu, who deserved better, will now have to focus on preparing for their Ligue 1 Matchday 12 fixture away to Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday (20:45 CET).