The Paris-SG suffered: in the game, we do not say, for a long time the Parisians danced on the stomachs of the reigning European champions, but mentally, by managing a bizarre and paradoxical situation, where it was necessary to seek landmarks deep within oneself rather than in a false and illusory encounter. 1-0 defeat in this quarter-final return against Bayern Munich therefore, while they were much more comfortable than in their first leg victory (3-2) and a second European cador liquidated after FC Barcelona (4-1, 1-1): not only do the Parisians have their napkin ring where the continental monsters have lived for years, but they now put them pies more often than they take.
Both teams attacked the game with a cool head. The Munichers do not like losing the ball, they made it run slowly, in a slowed-down version of the game developed by the German champions on the first leg: lazy, in the feet rather than in the race, with small complicated discounts in the last 20 meters. A Parisian defender’s dream. The idea, therefore, was not to electrify the affair too much to let the Germans sleep peacefully. But these are so predictable with the ball, so in difficulty as soon as Kylian Mbappé takes the ball, so dominated in the fight (60% of duels won for Paris at half-time, a huge proportion at this level), that the Parisians are moving forward. The rest will have something unreal. Put into orbit by Mbappé, Neymar, alone in front of the German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, loses his duel (26th) against the captain of the Mannschaft: a detail at this stage, because the ball comes back all the time, on the right, on an Angel Di Maria beaming, on a Mbappé who puts his opponents (Lucas Hernandez, Jérôme Boateng) to the torment.
City or Borussia in half
Neymar heats up: a post (34th), Neuer’s bar (37th), another single post in front of Neuer (39th), and while the Parisians count their own chances on their fingers, Eric Choupo-Moting puts the Bavarians in control on the first German opportunity of the evening (1-0, 40th). At Lemons, we have to tell ourselves that this score does not mean anything, we come to construct bizarre theories, the closed door which would facilitate misinterpretations for lack of “feeling” the public going in the direction of the match, for example.
Upon returning from the locker rooms, the Paris-SG is between two waters. Push, to translate a superiority that they feel with every passing minute? Move back, to secure what little there is to secure against harmless Munich? A little of both, to pose a threat reminding the Bavarian defenders of their defensive duties while tightening the lines during the long sequences of conservation of the opposing ball? Suddenly, the match does not look like much. And certainly not what it should be, Bayern existing in spurts when Idrissa Gueye and others let them breathe. The passing of time is paradoxically the business of both camps: Paris-SG because it is getting closer to qualifying, Bayern because the balance of power is unfavorable to it and it has every interest in playing the match on one shot, rolling the dice in the last few minutes. The Italian referee, Daniele Orsato, adds to the confusion by letting Mbappé slip towards the goal and gunning Neuer under the bar (78th) before raising his arm to signal an obvious offside. If something is up, it’s hard to figure out what.
Bayern leaves four players in front, then five, then six. Opening behind gaping spaces, which Neuer fills as best he can by playing the vaulters far from his goal. The Munich attackers will not have real opportunities: situations, a ball that trails, a center too long or too short. This also means that the Parisian defense has been able to hang on to the branches. It is Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund, who will explain themselves on Wednesday (2-1 for the English on the first leg), who will await the Parisians in the semi-finals.
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