When the 90-minute whistle was blown marking a well-fought Champions League victory for Bayern Munich, all cameras hunted for the best first reactions to the result. The hunting stopped when one of the cameras at Estadio Da Luz spotted David Alaba consoling Neymar who couldn’t hold his tears. This is what the final meant for both these teams.
But it was Bayern Munich who put out a comprehensive, complete and winning performance to win their 6th Champions League title. Only Real Madrid and AC Milan has won more.
The winning goal came from Kingsley Coman, who carefully guided a header beyond Keylor Navas in the 59th minute. He was named man of the match for this match-winner. Kingsley Coman wasn’t even picked for the starting lineup in both the Semis and the quarterfinals, hence proving how to complete aside Bayern Munich have been this year. And a star-studded PSG line up too did not hamper their performance.
The match was very much even in the first half. Even though Bayern Munich dominated, PSG was testing them in parts. PSG’s best chance came in the 18th minute when Neymar’s shot was blocked by Manuel Neuer. Things did not look too good for Bayern Munich at a point when in the 30th minute they lost their veteran center-back, Jerome Boateng, to an injury, who had to be replaced by Niklas Sule.
It was the 2nd half that witnessed Bayern run away with the game. They were the better team from the start and made the breakthrough via Coman, scoring a stunner from the Joshua Kimmich’s well-guided cross. They finished the game without conceding a goal with Manuel Neuer saving a Marquinhos shot with his leg and PSG substitute Choupo-Moting missing a howler in the dying minutes of the game.
But for PSG, it was their star Neymar who became the biggest talking point. Besides getting a lot of attention for his post-match breakdown, many accused him of going down too easily at times at several instances during the game, a judgment often associated with the Brazilian winger. But he did attract a lot of fouls from the Bayern players, who would often overcrowd him on the left side of the field which raises the question of whether Tuchel should have pushed the player further forward.
PSG’s over-reliance on Neymar and Mbappe was exposed, who couldn’t offer a big threat when these two players were not ticking. This led to a frustrated Neymar losing the ball way too many times, a result of both inaccurate passing and ineffective dribbling.
For Bayern, it was a perfect end to a perfect season with 21 unbeaten games marking a stellar performance from their newly appointed manager Hansi Flick, who replaced Niko Kovac midway this season. Since Flick’s appointment, this Bayern Munich side has been flawless and arguably one of the most complete teams this decade and that has resulted in winning every trophy they should have won.
As for the Champions League, an extended season witnessed a compelling final played between two competent sides and crown a team that impressed the most throughout the campaign.
