Bayern Munich defeats Paris Saint-Germain to win Champions League

On3 imageby:Troy Howell08/24/20

Photo: @ChampionsLeague

Former PSG protégé Kingsley Coman scored the game-winning goal off a beautiful feed from Joshua Kimmich to lift Bayern Munich to their 6th Champions League title and first since 2013. Coman, a Paris native who played on both the PSG youth academy and main team as a teenager, headed in the lone goal in the 59th minute.

Goalie Manuel Neuer was outstanding in shutting out the high-powered PSG offense. He made three saves, including a key one on a shot from Neymar.

Bayern’s win margin could have easily been higher. It appeared that PSG fouled Bayern in the penalty box near the end of the first half and again near the end of the game, but the referee did not call a penalty on either play.

Bayern won all 6 group stage games and all 5 knockout games to go a perfect 11 for 11 in the Champions League. No team had ever been perfect before. They have now won 21 straight games and have not lost in their last 30.

The win secured Bayern’s 2nd treble in club history, with the other coming in 2013. They won the German Bundesliga and German Cup earlier this year. The German Bundesliga was the first major soccer league to return to play after the coronavirus stoppage, resuming competition on May 17, giving hope to sports fans everywhere. Bayern has been on fire ever since.

Neymar had a rough night for PSG, and Kylian Mbappe couldn’t take advantage of a couple of good chances.

The highly-paid pair led PSG to 2020 titles in the French Ligue 1, Coupe de France, and Coupe de la Ligue. PSG also reversed their recent trend of frustrating early exits in the Champions League. PSG is owned by the Qatar Sports Investments group and is one of the richest squads in the world.

Winning domestic leagues and tournaments has become so common for Bayern that those titles are almost expected, but the Champions League is much more challenging. Bayern made it look easy, though, humiliating Barcelona in the quarterfinals and breezing past upstart Lyon in the semis, before knocking off Paris Saint-Germain in an empty stadium.

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2024-03-29