PSG lose the battle but keep their cool to win Bayern war

Mauricio Pochettino managed to do what his predecessor, Thomas Tuchel, failed to do: on a cool spring night in Paris, he conjured a victory for PSG against Bayern Munich. His team may have lost this leg, but their win away last week was enough to take them through to a semi-final against either Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund.

It is an indication of the club’s fondness for underachievement that this will be only the third occasion they have advanced to the last four in the Champions League. But this time, after the way in which they saw off the current champions with a combination of brilliance and steel, it would be unwise to bet against them.

It was clear from the outset that neither side had forgotten how to thrill in the days since the first leg. If not the reckless slugfest of their astonishing scrap in the Munich snow, this was still a fizzbang of attack and counter-attack, breathtaking individual skill confronting magnificently honed team ethic.

And what players were involved. For all Neymar’s laughable histrionics, what ball control he possesses. His feet dancing like Nijinsky, he was a constant threat to Bayern’s injury-ravaged defence. There was a delightful jig on the edge of the visitors’ area, followed by a shot that hit the bar. Then moments later, Kylian Mbappe set him up, his shot slipping beyond Manuel Neuer, only to strike a post.

But then Bayern demonstrated how precisely to take a chance. With Thomas Muller as ever applying a perfect touch in the build-up, they broke quickly. David Alaba had a shot that Keylor Navas saved well. But the ball bounced up and Eric Maxim Choupo-moting – again the understudy for the injured Robert Lewandowski – rose above Presnel Kimpembe to force the ball home. A goal built at the Bet 365 Stadium.

Magician at work: Lucas Hernandez tries to close down Neymar, who mesmerised the Bayern defence without being able to find the net

And so the action continued to sparkle. Angel Di Maria was magnificent, constantly employing flicks and feints to confound his markers. But whatever PSG’S forward line could do, Muller could match. If only Leroy Sane had been on the same wavelength. A couple of times in the first half, Muller set him up only to see the chance squandered.

In the second half, the double act of Neymar and Di Maria went through their repertoire of tricks, as if performing in a testimonial. The ball apparently glued to their feet, they conjured a chance the Brazilian, scrabbling to make contact, missed by inches. It was Paul Gascoigne at Euro 96 revisited.

But Bayern were not mesmerised. In search of the critical second goal, they attacked relentlessly; Leandro Paredes cleared off the line after Kingsley Coman headed goalwards. This was a game of constant thrust and counter thrust: if it was not Neymar, it was Sane going for goal (and just missing); if it was not Di Maria passing beautifully, it was Muller giving a masterclass of movement.

The trouble was Bayern, hamstrung by injury, had nothing on the bench. For the last 10 minutes they tried everything in search of the second goal that would take them through. Even at the very last, when Sane put a cross straight into Navas’s arms when gloriously placed, they

could not find a way through the blue wall. No wonder, as the final whistle sounded, Pochettino wore a smile the width of the Seine.

“It was an amazing game. The quality is there and they worked so hard. I’m so happy because our job is to get all this talent to work as a team,” he said.

Paris St-germain

Subs Booked Referee

Subs

Booked Bayern Munich