The Player Analyst

Whether you are enamoured by the relentless attacking talents on display, or bewildered by the uncharacteristic defending of elite-level players, one thing I can guarantee is that what just happened, was one of the most spectacularly chaotic football matches you will ever watch.

Kane kicked off the scoring with a calm penalty placed past Safonov, after Diaz was brought to ground by a lunging Willian Pacho. The English talisman has now scored 37/39 penalties for Bayern, with 54 total goals for this season so far…

The home side bounced back after 7 minutes with a curled effort from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, which Neuer seemed to assume would go wide of the post judging by his enclosed arm placement on the dive. Unfortunately for the veteran in goal, that wasn’t the last he’d see of Khvicha.

A further 9 minutes later and PSG got another. Young midfielder Joao Neves headed home across the six-yard box to get his moment and secure a 2-1 lead for the Parisians, which Olise quickly blasted away with a thunderous strike in the 41st minute. Whilst you could make the case to defend Safonov for letting a central strike ghost through him, simply from the sheer power Michael Olise generates, this is where criticism begins for many, as several defending players seemed to lose sight of Olise’s potence in these areas, almost inviting him to test his luck. Turns out, it’s probably best not to let a Ballon d’Or frontrunner take that chance when it comes.

To finalise the first half, Paris Saint-Germain were awarded a penalty in injury time for a handball committed by Alphonso Davies. Ousmane Dembele attempts a cross which first hits the left-back’s thigh, then arcs up off the thigh to the illegal area. General viewer, pundit and commentator consensus: not a penalty. However, we couldn’t have a modern day chaos match without a bit of VAR controversy could we? Dembele squeezes it past Neuer’s fingertips to take his side into half-time, leading by three goals to Bayern’s two.

To begin the second half, it was clear the Bayern players were instructed not to let off. Risks were taken, and they did not pay off. PSG orchestrated an excellent move, starting with Vitinha’s roll-and-switch all the way over to Hakimi who found himself with a field of empty green ahead. Looking up and delivering, the ball was played into a cluster of two PSG forwards and two Bayern defenders. All four of said cluster, dummied and missed the ball respectively, leaving the Georgian winger on the opposite side with an appetising chance to take his team further ahead in the tie. He took it comfortably, 4-2. 

Barely two minutes later, Doue found himself running at a lonely, unsupported central defensive duo. Tah was taken out the game with a simple pass to Dembele, Upamecano was subsequently insignificant to proceedings, as the reborn forward sent it home off the post for his second of the night. PSG were cruising, Bayern were crumbling.

The Germans fought back, dominating the remaining half an hour or so, with much-needed success. A classic Kimmich cross met Upamecano for a solid header into the corner, 5-3. And finally, a superb ball over the top by Harry Kane found Luis Diaz in the PSG box, barely onside. Touch, fake, shot, goal. Diaz made it look easy when he had no right to score, marking the final scoreline of 5-4 in Paris.

Is either team happy with the outcome, all context points considered? Will Vincent Kompany feel harshly done by the penalty and the earlier chances squandered, or will the home side wish they shut up shop to take a more favourable lead to the Allianz? Either way, next Wednesday cannot come soon enough.