Kingsley Coman netted another vital UEFA Champions League goal against his former club Paris Saint-Germain as Bayern Munich claimed a 1-0 lead from the away leg of their last-16 tie.
Paris-born Coman scored the only goal as Bayern beat PSG in the final three years ago and repeated the trick at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
The first-leg win was no more than Bayern deserved and the Bundesliga giants will be hoping they don’t pay the price for winning by just one goal against a PSG side who were without Kylian Mbappe until the 57th minute.
Mbappe, returning from injury, was introduced soon after Coman’s goal and could not inspire a conversion – seeing a late equalizer disallowed – but his presence in the second leg in Germany could have been decisive.
Without Mbappe from the start, PSG were completely outclassed, although Coman’s strike early in the second half was their first clear-cut opportunity.
A winger finish from substitute Alphonso Davies’ cross was close to Gianluigi Donnarumma but slipped under the keeper, who is yet to keep a clean sheet in the Champions League this season.
Mbappe’s introduction did little to slow Bayern down and Donnarumma was far more impressive in keeping PSG level, instinctively stopping Eric Choupo-Moting and Benjamin Pavard.
Finally, 17 minutes into the game, Mbappe broke through at the other end, but Yann Sommer made a brave block and the PSG forward was still in an offside position when Neymar’s follow-up shot went under his feet.
That was a clear call on the linesman, but VAR was called for when Nuno Mendes came in behind to equalize for Mbappe to score. The celebrations were cut short when replays showed the left-back had strayed offside.
Although Pavard was sent off for a second bookable offense in stoppage time, Bayern are in control of the return to Bavaria.
PSG player ratings (4-4-2)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma – 6/10 – Not called into action as often as he should have been given Bayern’s first-half dominance.
RB: Achraf Hakimi – 6/10 – Couple of solid blocks here and there but not as influential as we know he can be.
CB: Marquinhos – 6/10 – Solid although never spectacular.
CB: Sergio Ramos – 7/10 – Showed all of his experience, especially in the first half.
LB: Nuno Mendes – 7/10 – Definitely one of PSG’s top performers.
RM: Warren Zaire-Emery – 6/10 – Tough night for the 16-year-old but he was far from PSG’s biggest problem.
CM: Danilo Pereira – 6/10 – Struggled, along with the rest of the PSG midfield.
CM: Marco Verratti – 6/10 – PSG needed him to be much better than he was on the night.
LM: Carlos Soler – 7/10 – Raided down the PSG left well with Nuno Mendes.
CF: Neymar – 6/10 – Was okay, but not anywhere the level you know he can be.
CF: Lionel Messi – 7/10 – Lacked some of his usual sparkle but still a constant threat.
Substitutes
SUB: Presnel Kimpembe (46′ for Hakimi) – 6/10 – Defended well enough.
SUB: Kylian Mbappe (57′ for Soler) – 7/10 – Definitely made his presence felt.
SUB: Fabian Ruiz (57′ for Zaire-Emery) – 6/10 – Struggled to make an impact.
SUB: Vitinha (75′ for Danilo) – N/A
Manager
Christophe Galtier – 3/10 – Has to take a large slice of responsibility for PSG’s failures with his team selection and set-up.
Bayern Munich player ratings (3-4-2-1)
GK: Yann Sommer – 6/10 – Would have been expecting a much bigger test than he got.
CB: Benjamin Pavard – 7/10 – Influential in both attack and defence.
CB: Dayot Upamecano – 8/10 – Colossal presence at the heart of the defence.
CB: Matthijs De Ligt – 7/10 – Played his part in containing PSG’s brilliant attacking players.
RM: Cancelo – 6/10 – Still settling into the Bayern side.
CM: Joshua Kimmich – 8/10 – The dominant midfield player on the pitch.
CM: Leon Goretzka – 7/10 – Not dominant, but tidy enough.
LM: Kingsley Coman – 9/10 – A constant threat all night. Best player on the pitch.
AM: Leroy Sane – 6/10 – Largely ineffectual. Capable of much better.
AM: Jamal Musiala – 7/10 – A threat with his relentlessly clever movement.
CF: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting – 7/10 – Made a genuine nuisance of himself.
Substitutes
SUB: Alphonso Davies (46′ for Cancelo) – 7/10 – Made a real impact from the bench.
SUB: Thomas Muller (76′ for Choupo-Moting) – N/A
SUB: Serge Gnabry (76′ for Coman) – N/A
SUB: Josip Stanisic (90′ for Sane) – N/A
Manager
Julian Nagelsmann – 8/10 – Got it all spot on really, although he was helped by too many under-performing PSG stars.
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