As soon as Lyon knocked out Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Bayern Munich knew that they couldn’t joke with the French side.
They would have had at the back of their minds that the game won’t be as easy as the match against Barcelona. The Bundesliga giants had dismantled the Spanish team 8-2 in the previous round. The scoreline sent a statement of intent to their rivals.
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Lyon on the other hand had a good game and luck on their side against the Cityzens. All they had to do was to allow City take over the midfield, while they play on the counter utilising long passes. They managed to beat City to it with their pace.
However against Bayern, they adopted the same tactics but the Germans appeared to have done their homework by matching them pace for pace, except for few occasions when they were carved open by Lyon.
In the second half, Lyon had the chance to reduce the 2-0 deficit courtesy of Serge Gnabry’s brace. Karl Toko Ekambi got better of Bayerns’ backline at some point but failed to convert his chances.
So, all Bayern had to do is to stop Lyon from countering with long passes was to cut down their supplies from the wings. Once they were able to do that, they scored the needed goals required to take them to the final against PSG.
How can Bayern Munich stop PSG?
Bayern Munich has marched into their 11th Champions League final and they will be looking to make it their 6th title in the competition if they manage to overcome Neymar, Mbappe and co.
This is PSG’s maiden Champions League final. The Paris club has spent huge amounts on its squad and has been eyeing the trophy for a decade.
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They will have to face a Bayern team that has won 10 straight Champions League games and are on a 28-game unbeaten run across all competitions. This equalled the record for winning streaks in the competition set by Real Madrid in 2015.
All their goal scoring form is down to the partnership of Robert Lewandowski and Gnabry who share 24 Champions League goals. For PSG to have any chance of annihilating the Bundesliga team, they will have to stop the duo first. Thiago Silva and Marquinhos, therefore will have their hands full.
Sunday’s final will definitely be pitting arguably the best side in world football against one of the planet’s finest forward lines.
Neymar, Angel Di Maria, and Kylian Mbappe are expected to stretch the Bayern defence more than ever before. This might stop Joshua Kimmich and Alphonso Davies from venturing forward, thereby cutting supplies to Ivan Perisic and others.
The Battle of the Midfield
Based on the above analysis, the fight might be down to a midfield battle. Bayern is now known for long balls but Manuel Neuer can start an attack from the back with a long throw which could unlock the Parisians.
Thomas Muller, Leon Goretzka, and Thiago Alcantara will have their hands full against Marco Veratti, Ander Herrera, Paredes. Whoever wins this fight might dictate the pace of the game.
Chance Conversion
Another angle worth looking at is in the conversion of chances. PSG has not been good in this aspect, unlike Bayern that converts most of their chances. Lewandowski is a striker that will score one out of two. So, there’s no chance for profligacy for Neymar and Mbappe especially as seen against Leipzig.
PSG will definitely get the chance to utilise the space behind Bayern’s byline. How much they take their chances will determine where the pendulum swings.
We can’t wait to see which of these two teams will have the last laugh in Lisbon on Sunday night.
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