BAYERN STYMIES PSG STARS
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will have to wait another year for a chance to win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern Munich contained the World Cup stars and beat visiting PSG 2-0 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals 3-0 on aggregate.
After former PSG forward Kingsley Coman scored in the round-of-16 first leg, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting — another former PSG player — doubled the advantage before Serge Gnabry finished off the scoring at Allianz Stadium.
PSG had dominated the first half of the game and was only denied the lead by a goal-line clearance from Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt, but Bayern regained its focus in the second half to secure the win.
Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann had spoken previously of having a plan to shut down Messi and Mbappe and it seemed to work as Bayern’s defenders gradually squeezed them out of the game.
“In the first game, we didn’t do what we had spoken about before very well,” Nagelsmann told broadcaster DAZN. “There was too much space. We defended
Bayern wins 3-0 on aggregate
better in the second half and were dangerous on the ball. In the end, we deserved to win.”
All PSG can win this season is the French league title after being knocked out of the French Cup by Marseille last month.
Shortly after having a goal ruled out for offside, and also inadvertently blocking a teammate’s shot, ChoupoMoting scored in the 61st minute to put Bayern on course for the quarterfinals and send PSG — which has never won the Champions League — out of the competition in the last 16 for the second year running.
Leon Goretzka and Thomas Müller teamed up to take the ball off Marco Verratti and Goretzka squared the ball for Choupo-Moting to apply a simple finish with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stranded.
Two substitutes then linked up to make sure of the win on the counter in the 89th, with João Cancelo surging down the right flank before playing in Gnabry to score.
Draw enough for AC Milan
AC Milan advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League after holding 10man Tottenham to a goalless draw on Wednesday in London.
Brahim Diaz’s strike in the first leg of the round-of-16 matchup was enough to separate the teams as even the return of manager Antonio Conte could not inspire a comeback from Spurs.
Seven-time European champion Milan cruised through the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which saw Cristian Romero sent off in the second half.
Harry Kane’s 94th minute header was the closest the home team came to leveling the score on aggregate — before Milan substitute
Divock Origi hit the post in a frantic finish.
Conte was back on the sideline for Tottenham after spending two-and-a-half weeks in Turin recovering from gallbladder surgery.
But he could only watch as his team failed to break down Italian champion Milan, meaning Spurs’ 15-year wait for a trophy goes on, having failed to win any silverware since the League Cup in 2008.
Tottenham is now left to battle for a place in the Premier League top four, which would provide a route back into the Champions League.
Milan, meanwhile, can dream of an eighth title in Europe’s elite club competition.