Bayern Munich edged past Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 at the Parc des Princes Stadium on Tuesday night.
The German champions went into the game with an upper hand, with the likes of Marco Verratti and Lionel Messi returning into the starting line-up after nursing injuries, while Kylian Mbappe was only fit to start from the bench.
Bayern caused an early scare when Cameroonian Eric Choupo-Moting saw his shot go wide in the opening two minutes. Both sides did not create much clear-cut chances in the first-half, going into half-time all square.
Moments into the second-half, Kingsley Coman volleyed home to what was the match winner, after a well-worked cross from substitute Alfonso Davies, which went past defenders and found the Frenchman on the far post, who put the ball into the back of the net.
Coman haunt his former side once again when he scored the only goal of the match, repeating his 2020 Champions League final heroics against the Parisians, which led to his team winning the prestigious trophy for the sixth time.
Julian Nagelsmann’s charges kept on applying pressure, and Choupo-Moting came close to increasing their lead when his attempt came off the post, leaving goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with no chance.
PSG did not cause many troubles for the German Bundesliga champions until Mbappe was unleashed by manager Christophe Galtier in the 57th minute, coming on for Carlos Soler.
PSG thought they had found an equalizer in the 82nd minute but the VAR (video assistant referee) came to the rescue of the Germans, ruling the goal out for offside, his second of the night.
The 24-year-old proved to be the missing puzzle in the PSG attack, but it was a little too late, as they are now on the verge of not going further into the competition heading into the second leg on March 8 at the Allianz Arena.
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