Paris, France — twenty-four hours ago, Paris Saint Germain Coach Luis Enrique raised his hand to signal what an exciting level his team – who won the treble last season – had reached, saying PSG were “the best in the world”.
Bayern Munich Boss Vincent Kompany made no such announcement, but perhaps he felt he didn’t need to. His team is headed for their own treble and have lost only twice all season.
We all knew that Tuesday’s match was going to be a blockbuster. If there were a top 25 poll in European sports like college soccer, PSG and Bayern would be first and second, in whatever order you want.
Little did we know that this was going to turn into one of the most epic, back-and-forth slugfests in recent memory, the kind of match that could rival the legendary clash between Manchester United And real Madrid In 2003 (Ronaldo’s hat-trick, David Beckham came off the bench to score twice, Roman Abramovich decided at the same time in the stands that he needed to buy a football club to make his life complete…). Finally, the two best teams in the world produced a historic performance by defeating PSG Champions League Semifinal first leg 5-4 In the Parc des Princes.
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PSG fans generally created a scene before the match with over-the-top French Revolution-themed tifos. A huge banner made of gold, depicting blue-uniformed soldiers standing over a helpless red-clad infantryman in front of a scene of war-torn hell. This was a signal to the home fans as they began singing the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, referring to the “blood-soaked banner” and the enemy coming to “cut your throat” and exhorting their enemies to “water our fields” with their “impure blood”.
Those goosebumps wouldn’t be the last we’d experience. Was this the complicity with which Bayern found Luis Diaz in the box (where he will win the penalty harry kane convert to opener) or way Khvicha kvaratskheliya made Josip Stanisic Dancing like a puppet on a string, finding enough space to push the ball into the far corner for the equaliser, this was only the beginning.
And while the extremely precise technique of the above players and their ilk Michael Olise, Desiree Douay, ousmane dembele Will make highlight reels and circulate on social media, the thing that astounded you so much that you were fortunate enough to witness it was the sheer, relentless athleticism on display.
Bayern and PSG moved forward quickly, but they did it with precision, with familiar patterns of play that gave players time to think and create.
Soccer matches usually have natural “pauses” – this is traditionally a hallmark of the Spanish game – where talented players slow down and speed things up, or “control the pace” in coach-speak. Not here. It was breathless and yet, at the same time, looked controlled, coordinated. Super athletes are working at speeds that normal humans can only do at walking speed. And doing this over and over again for more than 90 minutes.
But if the pace was out of control, so was the game. On the contrary, it was surgical stuff, controlled with precision – from both coaches. And if there’s a lesson to be learned it should be that that’s what top players from top teams can do if you give them rest. Luis Enrique had prioritized team rotation over the last six weeks. The company also gave generous relief to the people Bundesliga. If the powers that be don’t get the message that with proper rest and time to work on the training pitch great players can produce spectacular performances as we saw at the Parc des Princes, then they are either deaf or dumb. (Or, greedy, because more games equals more money.)
This does not mean that the match was flawless by any means. Jamal Musiala but better work could have been done joao neves‘ By not letting the round, curly-haired midfielder pass him. Both Dembele and Olise probably should have scored earlier. alphonso davis He should have known better than to let his hand go out while turning, as he did when conceding the penalty. Olise’s finish for his goal was special, but the defense – with four men around him – was not. Kvaratskheliya’s second rocket was made possible by a chaotic back line. marquinhos A better job could have been done in ruling Diaz offside for the final goal (and it was very close).
Go ahead and do the work of pointing out and speculating. As you read this, PSG and Bayern probably have an army of video analysts doing just that. But remind yourself that most of those flaws were only highlighted by moments of excellent skill. If you’re playing in a Champions League semi-final, you don’t need to be perfect against 99% of your opponents, 99% of the time. Soccer is a low-scoring game and it is difficult to put the ball in the net. However, every flaw was punished on Tuesday night.
And, please, let’s not bury Luis Enrique for turning a 5-2 win (which would have justified blocking hotel rooms for the final in Budapest) into a 5-4 nail-biter that turns the return leg into a toss-up. Conventional wisdom would have suggested managing the game and maintaining possession and securing victory.
Furthermore, to be fair to him, he forwarded Fabian Ruiz To keep the ball. But Bayern’s one-two punch came so quickly – two goals in a span of 204 seconds, just seven minutes after PSG led 5-2 – there was no time to react and change the game plan. Not that he was likely to do so, anyway: Luis Enrique is nothing if not unconventional.
As for Bayern, they never changed their script, because they don’t. Three goals down or two goals up, you know what you’re going to get. This is the company’s way. And it’s doing a good job.
Remove the two penalties from the mix and you’ll see that PSG scored four goals with an xG of 1.12 and Bayern scored three goals with an xG of 1.73. And, combined, both sides had 22 shots: a surprisingly low total for a nine-goal game.
What does that tell you? This is what great players on great teams do: They turn even the most difficult into routine. This is technical proficiency, or, more simply, talent. And the gift the two coaches gave us, that offensive intent along with the freedom to let creative guys create, that’s the beauty. And entertainment.
Start next Wednesday in Munich. and a message Atletico Madrid And armory: Don’t get complicated about these two. There is more than one way to win a football match. The only thing is that this route is more special.
