Paris Saint-Germain holds a slight advantage over Bayern Munich after emerging victorious in the first leg. A final result of 3-2 gives Les Parisiens somewhat of an advantage due to the away goals rule. However, with the second leg being in Paris, Bayern Munich has the chance of taking advantage of the same rule.
Although Les Parisiens took the win convincingly, it’s still not all said and done for them. Bayern Munich is known for having a winning mentality even in tough situations. Paris Saint-Germain, on the other hand, is notorious for lacking a winning mentality. Furthermore, Bayern Munich is known for pulling through while under pressure, while Les Parisiens are known to crumble under pressure. In other words, it’s still not over, and anything can happen. Bayern Munich will be without Robert Lewandowski in the second leg, but their winning mentality may be a strong difference-maker. Therefore, Les Parisiens are under more pressure than Bayern Munich.
)
Both clubs deserve a lot of credit for their resiliency in this match. With Lewandowski out for this match along with Serge Gnabry, it truly didn’t do any favors for Paris Saint-Germain as Bayern Munich is also loaded with spectacular talent. Les Parisiens jumped to a 2-0 lead within the first 30 minutes of the match. A few minutes later, Bayern Munich would make it 2-1 going into half-time.
In the 60th minute, Thomas Müller would find the back of the net to tie the game 2-2. However, eight minutes later, Kylian Mbappé would score his second goal of the game to put Les Parisiens ahead once again, and they would hold on for the win. Mbappé now has six goals in the knockout stage of this year’s Champions League. In Mbappé’s case, he’s making up for all the missed scoring opportunities from the final last year. He is looking to lead his club to the final and hoist the title.
Mbappé is now the second-highest French top scorer, with 13 goals, in the Champions League knockout stages, surpassing Thierry Henry. In addition, Mbappé now has more Champions League goals for Paris Saint-Germain than Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Resiliency was truly the key to victory for Les Parisiens. Bayern Munich controlled much of ball possession and had a total of 31 shots, including 12 shots-on-goal. Bayern Munich refused to let up and would continually threaten to score, but Paris Saint-Germain would show no fear, and Keylor Navas would make ten saves. In addition, the defense of Les Parisiens would make 45 clearances with ten blocks and seven interceptions. On top of that, Les Parisiens ended Bayern Munich’s 32-game unbeaten streak at Allianz Arena.
It would seem that Paris Saint-Germain had a winning mentality in this game. Furthermore, they were able to fend off tremendous pressure. Knowing Bayern Munich can easily turn the tables on them, Les Parisiens need to be ready and have a winning mentality going into the second leg. A victory obviously won’t be easy for Paris Saint-Germain, but the important thing is that a victory is not impossible.
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @PTSTNews and @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page: Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group: Prime Time Sports Talk
Instagram: @ptsportstalk
Follow Alex Al-Kazzaz on Twitter @BearManOfTX
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
