Bayern Munich has been crowned the winners of this year’s Champions league Beating PSG on Kingsley Coman’s Header.
Two of the wealthiest, most domestically dominant clubs in the world went head-to-head for Europe’s top prize, but it was Bayern emerging with a 1-0 win over PSG after Kingsley Coman’s 59th-minute goal in Lisbon, Portugal on Sunday.
The title is Bayern’s sixth European cup, and it cements a repeat of the club’s feat in 2013, when it won the treble (domestic league, domestic cup, European cup).
Bayern won every match from the group stage through the final, and it survived a valiant challenge from PSG, which was looking for its first European title to validate its abundance of spending since its Qatari ownership took over.
Bayern made one significant change to its starting XI, swapping Coman, an ex-PSG youth product, in for Ivan Perisic on the wing. That was a move that proved to be wise for manager Hansi Flick. PSG, meanwhile, stuck with its semifinal starters save for goalkeeper, where Keylor Navas is back after a one-game injury absence.
PSG was fortunate after giving the ball away in its own half in the second minute. Bayern’s press forced the early turnover, but Leon Goretzka misplaced his pass in trying to turn that opportunity into an early goal.
Bayern kept the ball in PSG’s half for the vast majority of the opening stages, boxing the French side into its half as it continued to insist on building forward methodically as opposed to hoofing it long for Kylian Mbappe or Neymar to chase.
A Bayern turnover, for a change, gave PSG its first moment of danger in the ninth minute, with Mbappe drawing a foul on Thiago Alcantara and winning a free kick in a dangerous spot. Neymar opted to play the free kick to the back post, though, and Davies was able to defend it cleanly.
Source: si.com
