The Champions League Turmoil- Lisbon hosted what would remain as one of the best technical battles duked out in the grand finale of Champions League. Bayern put in a rock-solid performance to humble French champions, Paris Saint Germain. This was in a high-octane encounter. The game wasn’t as exciting as the Europa League finally maybe. However, it did not really disappoint, as there were so many chances created for both sides.
Right since the game’s inception, Flick’s wards started pressing against PSG. The French rearguard had a tough time keeping the Germans at bay. At times through scrambled saves while at others through desperate dives and fouls, they managed the game to remain tied.
The first clear chance of the night fell for PSG as Neymar had a clear range of the goal in front of him. His flick was all perfect only to be parried away twice in a span of five seconds. Once again, thanks to the towering brilliance of Neuer.
After some searing pace in the midfield from the French stalwarts that saw a slick exchange of passes amongst themselves. This finally fed to Di Maria with only Neuer to trounce, the Argentine winger bundled a bloated effort towards Mars.
Both Teams Cancelled Each Other Out On The Night
The Bavarians were quick to respond as Kinglsey Coman outgunned Thilo Kehrer for the umpteenth time of the game. He had a great game and mesmerized one and all with his crazy skills and brutal pace. His delectable delivery was exceptionally killed by Lewandowski and the Polish striker conjured an inhuman turn in the flash of an eye. He glazed the woodwork with a thunderous effort.
However, given the open stature of the final which saw both the teams challenging each other with a volley of attacks and counter-attacks. PSG once again found their way through a shaky high-line of Bayern. The back-line was already depleted of their most experienced campaigner, Jerome Boateng through a knee injury.
David Alaba in cursory ended up feeding Mbappe right at the edge of the box. The French winger after a blazing display of dribbles powered a tame shot right through the throat of Neuer. With nowhere else for the ball to go, the game saw another opportunity go begging.
Bayern Munich Was Not Dominant But Did Enough To Win The Champions League
The Bavarians went up together in loud appeal as Coman was clipped inside the box by a lacking Kehrer which according to VAR was nothing but a soft touch.
As play resumed after the breather, Tuchel’s wards were deprived of all hope as Bayern conjured new vim and vigour to crawl over PSG from every single nook and cranny of the field.
After failing to find the net for an hour, a stellar display of teamwork split open the French rearguard and also paved the way for the night’s fabled moment. Thiago Alcantara, Joshua Kimmich and Serge Knabry played out in an ecstatic troika to feed Kimmich with that final ball.
The German defensive midfielder whipped in a picture-perfect cross for a soaring Coman and the former PSG academy-product hammered the ball into the far post beyond a stranded Keylor Navas, leaving a zillion hearts aching.
How Did Things Get Messed Up For PSG?
Though the hopes of another French revolution seemed slim, there were occasional outbursts of din in the German regime. This was thanks to some individual brilliance from the PSG players. However, all of it was snuffed out by the German king, Manuel Neuer. The goalie put in one of those special shifts. A shift that had placed him en route to be the perfect successor to the Titan.
As Di Maria slipped in a perfectly-threaded pass in the stride of an onrushing Marquinhos, Neuer came out of his line. He pruned down the angle for the Brazilian. This saw him bundling his effort straight away at the German custodian.
There was another gilt-edged chance that fell at the feet of Mbappe in the dying embers of the game. No end-product once again, only to be scrambled away by incisive footwork of the towering Neuer.
As soon as the whistle blew, Bayern was crowned as the new champions of Europe. The Champions League title was once again theirs, thanks to some valiant turnaround by Hansi Flick. The same man who took over the reins in November and evolved an incoherent unit into the most invincible team throughout Europe.
