Bayern Munich won their sixth UEFA Champions League title after beating Paris Saint Germain 1-0 in the final in Lisbon, The Bavarians have completed a second treble in eight seasons after Kingsley Coman scored the decisive goal to secure the win.
Given the exploits of both sides en route to the final, the first half was somewhat lacking the deadly touch many might have expected in the final third, with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski all spurning decent chances.
Coman, a PSG academy product, broke the deadlock in the 59th minute and that caused the contest to open up significantly.
Jerome Boateng’s forced withdrawal through injury made life tougher for Bayern, though Lewandowski again went close just past the half-hour mark when his close-range header forced Keylor Navas into action.
Neuer then had to be alert at the other end on the stroke of half-time, saving Mbappe’s tame attempt after a defensive mix-up.
Although the second half began as a tighter contest, Bayern produced their best move of the match just before the hour and it brought the crucial goal.
Lewandowski laid Serge Gnabry’s cross back to Kimmich just outside the area and his inviting delivery to the back post was headed home by Coman.
PSG had to mount a response and almost levelled when Neuer saved from Marquinhos, while Kimmich’s apparent trip on Mbappe in the Bayern area went unpunished a few moments later.
Neymar then curled just wide – with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting almost getting a crucial touch on it – in stoppage time, but Bayern hung on as PSG fell short.
But, while the Parisians might feel they were incorrectly denied a penalty in an incident involving Mbappe and Joshua Kimmich, Bayern held on to seal their sixth European crown.
Former Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves, speaking on BT Sport: “This is one of the greatest Bayern teams ever. Flick’s turned this team into an absolute machine. Everyone in Germany is blown away, the football has blown everyone away. Last year Liverpool outplayed them and we thought it was the end of an era and now it’s the start of an era.”
Bayern have repeated their treble feat of domestic league and cup and European crown from 2012/13 – an achievement only previously managed by Celtic (1967), Ajax (1972), PSV Eindhoven (1988), Manchester United (1999), Barcelona (2009, 2015) and Internazionale (2010).
Former Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves, speaking on BT Sport: “Hansi Flick has found all the right decisions at the key moment and today that decision was Kingsley Coman. They call him the king around the training ground and he was the king today.”
Chris Burke -PSG Reporter
Neymar was obviously crestfallen after the final whistle, perhaps more emotional than any of his team-mates. The Brazilian had been a real talisman for Paris during the knockout phase and spoke before the quarter-finals of feeling happier in the French capital than at any other team. Will he come back stronger next season?
Additional Reporting UEFA and Goal.com
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