>
Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Bayern Munich: Kingsley Coman gives the Germans a deserved lead in the first leg in the Heavyweight Champions League round of 16 as Kylian Mbappe has the tie ruled out by VAR after to return from an injury from the bench
Paris Saint-Germain had a wonderful World Cup. Lionel Messi was the winning captain and winner of the Ballon d’Or. Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick in the final and won the Golden Boot.
But the club’s Qatari owners have not funded this project to see those on the payroll lift gold in their own back desert. It is continental silver that they so desire. For a decade, the sands of time and billions of Qatari riyals have slipped through their grasp in search of the club game’s ultimate prize.
This campaign, in which they went undefeated through the group stage, seems to be another mirage.
The truth is that PSG is not very good. There is no system failure that will correct itself over time. They were operating by plan here, one that doesn’t extend much beyond waiting for Messi or Neymar to conjure up a magic trick. The reality is that it is the other guy, Mbappé, who invariably pulls rabbits out of hats.
They were trailing until Kingsley Coman’s goal on 53 minutes when Mbappe, fit enough only for the bench, was met with the most powerful roar of the night. It sounded more like a cry for help.
Kinglsey Coman scored the only goal on Tuesday as Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint Germain 1-0.
It went straight through Gianluigi Donnarumma, who should have done better.
Kyllian Mbappé put the ball into the net twice after coming off the bench but both were ruled offside
There was an improvement and Mbappé had two goals disallowed for offside. But it is Bayern, despite a late red card for defender Benjamin Pavard, who are heavy favorites to advance after exactly repeating the score and goalscorer from the 2020 Champions League final.
And it was a good effort from former PSG striker Coman. Alphonso Davies was introduced at halftime by Joao Cancelo. PSG seemed oblivious to the change, for it was as if the Canadian had been left alone amid the vast greenery of Les Jardins du Trocadero when he sized up a cross for Coman to hit a volley that had too much power for Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The ball had escaped the Italian but, without him, the contest would have ended 10 minutes after that goal. Twice he made impressive saves from Eric Choupo-Moting.
At least one soccer game had broken out late, on the back of a buildup dominated by Neymar’s confirmation of a locker room raid and the search for the mole that leaked the story.
Lionel Messi struggled to find his way in the game as he was run well by Bayern
Benjamin Pavard was sent off in second half stoppage time for a second bookable offence.
Warren Zaire-Emery, 16, became the youngest titleholder in UCL knockout history
The inclusion of PSG’s Warren Zaire-Emery, the 16-year-old midfielder, was something of an antidote to the pre-match poison. He was not born when his teammates Messi and Sergio Ramos were playing in the Champions League. Here, he became the youngest starter in the knockout stages of the competition.
But it was also a bold decision by Christophe Galtier, given that the success or otherwise of PSG’s entire season depends on the outcome of this tie. Not that he looked like a teenager. When he was close to Messi, Neymar and Marco Verratti, it was the strong Zaire-Emery that provided protection to his elders.
Given the stakes for both clubs, Bayern also being judged on their European performance, we expected a cautious affair. It was worse than that during a dismal first half in which only Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich found the goal, and that gutsy shot from 25 yards.
Messi had a free kick that took an age to measure. It was hardly worth the wait, and Michael Oliver called halftime at the back of it by failing to clear the wall. For PSG, it didn’t improve much.