Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting came back to haunt former side as Bayern eased through to the quarter-finals, a 2-0 home win completing a 3-0 aggregate triumph that ends Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League aspirations for another season.
Paris Saint-Germain arrived in Munich with work to do after Kingsley Coman’s first-leg winner in France, and though another former employee would ultimately prove their undoing, Christophe Galtier’s side set about their task impressively.
In one remarkable first-half exchange, Lionel Messi was denied by three different Bayern players as Paris’s high press caused their hosts problems, but the best chance fell to Vitinha before the break. With Yann Sommer caught in possession, the Portuguese side-footed a shot towards goal and began celebrating only for Matthijs de Ligt to hack it off the line.
Bayern were spurred into life, and though Choupo-Moting had an effort chalked off for offside there was no denying him just after the hour as he swept in his third goal in four meetings with Paris since leaving the French capital. A tackle on Marco Verratti laid the platform for the opener just as it did Serge Gnabry’s late second as the substitute wrapped things up.
Reaction
Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern coach:”In the first game, we didn’t do what we had spoken about before very well. There was too much space. We defended better in the second half and were dangerous on the ball. In the end, we deserved the win.”
Thomas Müller, Bayern captain: “In a game like that, there are always moments when you need to suffer and create a little luck. We were more controlled in our defending in the second half. We played the better game and ultimately deserved to win.”
Christophe Galtier, Paris coach: “It’s a big disappointment. We have to deal with it and accept it. There’s a lot of disappointment in the dressing room. I don’t know if it’s a lesson to be learned, but there’s a lot of frustration. If we’d scored first it would have been different, but we didn’t.”
Danilo, Paris defender: “Unfortunately, Bayern were too strong. We had chances in the first half, we didn’t take them, and in the Champions League, that makes things difficult. It’s tough to go out like this, but that’s the Champions League.”
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