Bayern dominated PSG. He was refreshed only by Mbappe, who had two goals canceled

Bayern made a great return to the Champions League: they flew to Paris and beat PSG 1-0.

How it was?

“PSG” began to hit on goal only at the end of the match. Mbappe scored twice from offside

• Bayern took the ball from the first minute, PSG tried to catch on the counter-attacks, but they bogged down almost immediately. If PSG took possession, it was literally for a couple of minutes, and then again sat down with the whole team below the center of the field. Bayern reached the penalty area and broke the defense either through a short pass from Choupo-Moting, Musiala and Sane, or through throws from Kimmich, Coman and Canselu. By the 30th minute, Bayern struck six shots, but there were no really dangerous ones. The Germans created the first nervous moment on the 43rd: Kimmich powerfully shot from the bottom from behind the penalty area, but Donnarumma took it.

•‎ As a result, Paris never scored a goal in the first half (Bayern – 10 times) and did not earn a single corner (Bayern – four). Although there was still one blow – Messi hit the wall from a free kick.

•‎ First half sleepy xG: 0.06 vs. 0.48.

•‎ The second half started according to the same scenario, only Bayern finally cracked the defense. Alphonso Davis made a cross to Coman in the penalty area, and he flashed Donnarumma in touch. Kingsley was completely alone. No one around at all.

• Mbappé came in to rescue PSG in the 57th minute and really revived the game, scoring twice, both offsides. And all the judges’ decisions are on the case, although in the second case everything was decided by centimeters.

• Bayern could score a few more times, with a crossbar save from Musiala’s shot and a Donnarumma save. By the 70th minute, the guests struck 15 shots against 2 from the opponent. “Paris” more or less perked up only at the end of the match, Pavard retired on 90+, but this did not help either.

• Nearly all key figures are in Bayern’s favour: 54% possession, 18-9 on shots, 5-4 on corners. Munich are unbeaten in 20 matches in a row – 16 wins and 4 draws. The club already has 7 wins out of 7 in this Champions League.

• PSG not doing well: losing their third consecutive game for the first time since 2020. Then they also received from Bayern, and also from Lance and Marseille.

Pre-match quote by Nagelsmann

“If we implement our game plan, Messi and Neymar will not have many opportunities to shine,” Julian said at a press conference. “We want to win by having the ball for a long time, and then we will not leave Neymar and Messi wide free zones. And they are very dangerous when they get free space.”

It turned out almost everything. Bravo.

How did the 16-year-old guy from PSG play?

16-year-old midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery became the basis of PSG – he became the youngest player in the history of the Champions League playoffs (of those who started). To be precise, he is 16 years and 343 days old.

The 16-year-old kid at the start of PSG is the youngest in the history of the Champions League playoffs. What’s in it?

True, the match did not work out for Zaire-Emery: he made only 11 accurate passes (68.8%) and lost possession the same number of times. The statistical portal SofaScore gave him the lowest score in both teams – only 6.3, the same was received by Ashraf Hakimi.

Zaire-Emery spent 57 minutes on the field, replaced by experienced Fabian Ruiz.

Three weeks later, the answer is in Munich. We are waiting for Mbappe at the start?

The second leg in Munich will be held on March 8 and will start at 23:00 Moscow time.

More than three weeks will pass, so Kylian Mbappe will definitely return to the start (unless, of course, he is injured again).

Recall the circumstances: Mbappe was injured on February 1 in a match with Montpellier (3: 1), a defensive midfielder Leo Leroy rolled hard under him. It turned out that Kilian had a hamstring injury in his left leg and was out for three weeks.