Serge Gnabry stood in the catacombs of the Estádio José Alvalade with the UEFA trophy for the “Man of the Match” in his left hand and flicked a smile for the photographer for a moment. On Sunday evening (9 p.m. on ZDF), however, the man who shot FC Bayern Munich in the best Arjen Robben style almost alone in the grand final against Paris Saint-Germain wants to raise a completely different trophy in Lisbon – the largest and most valuable in global club football, the handle pot of the Champions League.
The international striker was asked by a reporter on Wednesday evening after the 3-0 (2-0) in the semi-final against Olympique Lyon why the Munich double winners now also win the triple. “Because we really want it,” Gnabry replied, simply and convincingly. “I think that’s the deciding factor. We will do everything we can to get the title, «said Gnabry.
Memory of prominent predecessors
The 25-year-old impressively kept his promise to do everything against Lyon. Captain Manuel Neuer spoke of another “creamy day” for the winger in the premier class; Just remember the four goals in the 7-2 win against Tottenham or the brace in the 3-0 win against Chelsea in the last sixteen. But his eight and nine goals of the season in Portugal were the most important. “He scored the first goal at the right time,” emphasized goalkeeper Neuer. In a scene shortly before, Lyons Toko Ekambi hit the Munich post (17th minute), Bayern wavered in the early phase of the game.
The 1-0 was reminiscent of the legendary Robben move, this inimitable movement of the Dutch Gnabry predecessor, who for years pulled the ball in from the right wing and then circled the ball with his left into the corner. Gnabry imitated this in his own way, dynamic, determined, powerful. “The 1-0 win was absolutely outstanding, how he finished it and how he prepared it himself. Serge simply has an extremely good shot with both feet, ”said coach Hansi Flick, commenting on the action.
At the direction of the physiotherapist
Gnabry had acted on orders. “Before the game, a physiotherapist said to me:” If you don’t shoot, the ball can’t go in. ” Luckily I shot, “he said after his big performance:” I’ve always had that strong left foot. “
His 2-0 he later initiated dynamically and completed the move again with the left in front of the empty goal. Overall, one can say that Gnabry has seen rapid development, “not only at Bayern, but also with the national team,” as Flick emphasized. When Flick was still assistant to national coach Joachim Löw, they had the then 18-year-old talent in the service of Arsenal London as a surprise nomination for the glorious 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Gnabry is now known to play “always” at Löw, as the national coach said. “You have to say that he’s close to being a world class player. He has enormous qualities, “said Hansi Flick on Wednesday evening – and immediately spurred the Lyon conqueror on again:” I am convinced that he is far from over. “
At PSG, all eyes are on him
Serge Gnabry still has plans for Portugal. He is now the fourth big striker’s name in the final, alongside team-mate Robert Lewandowski and PSG superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. “Gnabry will be one of the great threats to PSG,” wrote the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe” on Thursday.
The Estádio da Luz is the best possible time for Gnabry to make the seal again: The last Munich Champions League hero to date scored in 2013 on the way to the first Bayern triple in the triumph in the Wembley final against Borussia Dortmund in the 89 minutes: the crowning winner dpa / nd
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