Down to ten men! Bayern battle to statement win over PSG | OneFootball

FC Bayern wins 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain thanks to an extremely strong defensive performance and a clinical Luis Díaz. This puts the Munich side at the top of the Champions League table.

Bayern's winning streak continued in Paris and has now reached 16 games. Thanks to goals from Luis Díaz, the Munich team was able to cope with his subsequent red card.

Even though Paris had significantly more possession in the second half, Bayern's stable defense was able to keep the reigning Champions League winners largely in check—even after PSG launched a massive final offensive following João Neves' goal.

Díaz scores twice, but is sent off

After an intense start, Bayern quickly got their first chance on goal. Serge Gnabry poked the ball to the onrushing Michael Olise, whose shot was blocked. The rebound, however, fell to Luis Díaz, who scored directly from about twelve meters out to make it 1-0 in the 4th minute.

Afterwards, the Munich side kept their foot on the gas and pressed Paris high up the pitch, while the hosts tried to bring some calm into the game.

In the 22nd minute, Bayern almost had to concede the equalizer. Barcola switched the play to the left side of the box to Ruiz, who played the ball in front of goal to Ousmane Dembélé, but he was offside just before the goal line with his first-time shot. Shortly after, the already injured World Footballer had to be substituted. Kang-In Lee came on for him.

Shortly after Gnabry was denied by the post from making it 2-0, Díaz won the ball high up the pitch against PSG captain Marquinhos, drove towards goal, and completed his brace with a precise finish into the left corner in the 32nd minute.

Photo: IMAGO

After a through ball from Kane, Josip Stanisic scored what appeared to be the 3-0 just before halftime, but he was a good meter offside. Shortly after, the hosts launched a counterattack through Achraf Hakimi, who was stopped by Díaz with a much too hard tackle from behind. The result: a red card.

Bayern fight their way to victory

For the second half, Tom Bischof came on for Gnabry to provide more defensive stability following Díaz's red card. The plan worked. Paris had much more of the game at the start of the second half, but couldn't turn their increased possession into clear chances.

Bayern's first chance of the second half didn't come until the 61st minute. Olise dribbled past several defenders to the edge of the box, but his shot was relatively harmless. In the 69th minute, another attempt by Olise after a pass from Stanisic also went unrewarded.

Paris increased the pressure. A cross from Lee in the 74th minute found Neves at the far post, who, while falling, put the ball past Dayot Upamecano and Manuel Neuer into the net.

Photo: IMAGO

Now things got really uncomfortable for Bayern. The French side created chance after chance, but Neuer was always there to stop them. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany reacted by bringing on Minjae Kim for Michael Olise—a clear signal.

Leon Goretzka also came on for Harry Kane. The flood of chances for Paris continued. Luckily for FCB, and thanks to the outstanding central defensive duo of Upamecano and Tah, these offensive efforts went unrewarded and in the end, the scoreboard read 1-2.

Next top match against Arsenal

After Bayern have completed their two Bundesliga matches against Union Berlin and SC Freiburg, another high-profile opponent awaits in the Champions League: Arsenal FC.

The Gunners, after a 3-0 win over Slavia Prague, also have 12 points from four matches and are leaders in the Premier League as well. So fans can look forward to another top-class clash in the Champions League.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.