PSG was pipped to the top spot in Group H by Benfica by means of away goals scored, the fourth possible tiebreaker having both finished on 14 points, and each scoring 16 goals to seven conceded. This gave them a tie against Bayern, who finished well clear of the chasing pack in Group C.
PSG's last game saw them lose 3-1 away at Monaco, their third league defeat in seven since returning from the World Cup. A bright spot was young forward Warren Zaire-Emery scoring his second senior goal, and the 16-year-old started alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi in the front three. Kylian Mbappe also returned from injury and started on the bench.
Our starting eleven for #PSGFCB at the Parc des Princes! ⏳#UCL I @EASPORTSFIFA pic.twitter.com/1PVsQpyIWy
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) February 14, 2023
Bayern's group campaign saw them go head-to-head with Inter and Barcelona, but Julian Nagelsmann's side won all six games to finish with maximum points and a 100 percent record. These two sides met in the 2020 final, which Bayern won 1-0.
The 2020 European champions started with Kingsley Coman on the left wing, who scored the winner in that behind-closed-doors final nearly three years ago. The Frenchman, a PSG academy product, has scored three goals in his last two games for Bayern, and his most recent win in a 3-0 win over Bochum extended the Bavarians' unbeaten Bundesliga run to 13 games.
Bayern tweaked their starting formation to a 3-2-4-1, with Pavard and Sane drifting into more central positions and Cancelo switching to right-wing-back with Coman doing the same on the left.
PSG looked relatively happy for Bayern to have the ball, with their strategy being to hit the Bavarians on the break at any given opportunity. However, that's one risky game plan against a team possessing the quality Bayern has, and the visitors looked increasingly likely to be the side to score first here.
⌚️ 20' - 💪 @SergioRamos #PSGFCB I #UCL pic.twitter.com/MFkWZMZ0rw
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) February 14, 2023
It's 0-0 at the break, and PSG was extremely lucky this game was still goalless. The hosts left a void in their midfield which Bayern exploited time and time again; however, brilliant defense, led by Ramos in particular, restricted the number of good chances the visitors had been able to create. Forced to play counter-attack with Messi and Neymar far from speedy target men these days, PSG offered nothing and should be delighted to still be level.
While players like Messi, Neymar, Verratti, and Marquinhos were struggling, the man Sergio Ramos alone was too much to handle for Bayern. If Neymar wasn't biased toward Messi, Ramos might have given them an early lead. He defended his box, and at the end of the counter, he was there to score. Neymar chose to cross the ball towards Messi when Ramos was thriving on the edge of the box, deceiving the Bayern defenders.
| Fouls Made | 1 |
|---|---|
| Possession Lost | 1 |
| Total Shots | 1 |
| Was Dribbled Past (Best) | 0 |
| Clearances (Highest) | 7 |
| Interceptions (Highest) | 3 |
| Touches (Highest) | 83 |
| Was Fouled | 1 |
| Passes Completed (Highest) | 61/64 (95%) |
| Long Passes Completed (Highest) | 8/10 (80%) |
| Dribbles Completed | 1/1 (100%) |
| Ground Duels Won (Highest) | 4/6 (67%) |
| Aerial Duels Won (Highest) | 5/7 (71%) |
⭐ 𝙈𝘼𝙉 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙈𝘼𝙏𝘾𝙃 ⭐
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) February 14, 2023
Félicitations, King! 😍#MiaSanMia #PSGFCB pic.twitter.com/kryUKTtGdF
The game was precisely telling the same story. It was mostly Bayern all over the pitch. It took 53 minutes to get what they deserved. GOOOOOAAAALLL!!! Bayern got the breakthrough, and it's that man again!!! Choupo-Moting teed Davies up to cross from the left, and the Canadian's cross flew over everyone's heads and fell to Coman, who side-footed the ball underneath Donnarumma on the volley to give the visitors a deserved 1-0 lead! He looked lively on the left in the first half, and his switch to the opposite side yielded a goal in the second! Donnarumma could have done better; it was on him.
Bayern won all six of their Champions League games this season, scoring 18 goals and only conceding twice. They've only won their first seven straight once in this competition, doing so in 2019-20 as they won every single game they played, the last of which was against PSG in the final. They were in the mood to repeat that once again.
His introduction changed the entire nature of this game, notably giving Neymar and Lionel Messi much more freedom to do what they do best after the pair were passengers for much of the first hour. Neymar, in particular, became significantly more dangerous, finishing the game with three shots, one of which was on target, and nine touches in the box from five final-third entries. He completed a key pass and four crosses, with a final-third passing accuracy of 92 percent, as well as making two clearances and winning two free-kicks.
About Messi, I don't know what to say. As far as I remember, he has lost possession the most. While PSG relied on the counter, he had too many touches and fewer passes. Instead of passing, he chose to dribble and lost possession in dangerous situations, leading to counters. He didn't have a good time, as the dribble succession rate was 50-50.
A 1-0 away win gives Bayern the advantage going into the second leg, with the Bavarians likely to be confident their unbeaten home record this season will stay intact. The March 8 clash at the Allianz Arena will see PSG need to attack from the off in order to reverse their deficit, but if Kylian Mbappe is indeed fit enough to start that game, have no doubt that he and his team-mates are willing to do precisely that in Munich.
