Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5-4 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Parc des Princes.
It was the first ever Champions League semi-final to have five goals scored in the first half. Four second-half goals then made it the highest-scoring Champions League semi-final.
Both sides put on a dazzling attaacking display, with Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele all showing their class.
In this article, we’ll cover
Man-to-man extremes
PSG and Bayern both set up with extreme man-to-man approaches at the Parc des Princes. It led to one-on-one battles across the pitch, with certain players tasked with certain matchups and reference points.
PSG
PSG’s man-to-man press had the two wide forwards, Kvaratskhelia and Doue, picking up Bayern’s centre-backs. Dembele was then tasked with dropping onto either Joshua Kimmich or Aleksandar Pavlovic in the buildup.
Vitinha would then jump to mark the other player, allowing PSG to go man-for-man with the four in Bayern’s initial build.
The Parisians also did something interesting with their coverage behind the front press. Achraf Hakimi would jump to mark Alphonso Davies, while Warren Zaire-Emery would track Josip Stanisic, arriving from right-back into the half space.
Joao Neves would look to sweep close to the back three, marking the Bayern front three man-for-man. Marquinhos shuffled over to Diaz, Willian Pacho was on Kane and Nuno Mendes went up against Olise. It often left Neves picking up Musiala.
Bayern were able to use this at times, baiting PSG’s man-to-man press before launching the ball more direct into the front four. They had a physical advantage with Neves often in the last line, but they also took him away from the middle to mop up those second balls, which allowed Bayern to gain territory.
Bayern
Bayern’s man-to-man press was slightly different. Their front four all matched up with PSG’s back line, with Diaz following Hakimi and Olise tracking Mendes.
However, in order to matchup with PSG’s midfield three, Stanisic had to step up to mark Zaire-Emery, while Kimmich jumped up to Vitinha and Pavlovic tracked Neves.
Dayot Upamecano would then shift over to cover the channel and take Kvaratskhelia, with Jonathan Tah marking Dembele and Davies covering Doue.
PSG tried to force those man-to-man jumps down Bayern’s right side, isolating Kvaratskhelia in one-on-ons against Upamecano, or pinning Stanisic so he couldn’t jump to Zaire-Emery. It often meant Upamecano would have to jump instead, covering a larger distance which allowed PSG’s midfielders and attackers to gain separation.
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PSG’s attacking dynamics
PSG’s opening goal was a perfect example of how they looked to take advantage of Bayern’s right-sided defensive dynamics, forcing one of the defenders to step out while Kvaratskhelia made a counter movement to arrive 1v1 close to the box.
Rotations from PSG saw Doue end up on the right with Kvaratskhelia, with Vitinha drifting over to the left to occupy Pavlovic, which saw Kimmich pick up Zaire-Emery.
This forced Upamecano to follow Doue and jump out to apply pressure, opening the possibility for a clipped ball over Stanisic into the path of Kvaratskhelia, who received in an advantageous 1v1 scenario close to the box, using the defenders momentum against him, cutting inside on his right and finding the bottom corner to make it 1-1.
Counter movements are a theme of PSG’s attacking rotations and dynamics, with players interchanging between showing to feet and running in behind, always keeping the opposition backline honest and tested.
Hakimi did this nicely for PSG’s fourth goal, as Doue went from the right wing to show to feet, taking Konrad Laimer away with him, Hakimi made the counter movement to run in behind, catching Diaz off guard and finding himself in acres of space to deliver.
Bayern attacking dynamics
Bayern’s front four were brilliant when it came to rotating across the front line, forcing the defensive line to make decisions on whether to pass on their man or whether to follow them and exploiting the space it created.
Olise would find himself drifting infield to connect and combine in central areas, Diaz was making good runs across the last line, Kane would move onto different markers in the back four and Musiala acted as a good bounce board for combination play.
The dynamics between Kane and Diaz get the best from both attackers, as Kane likes to drop deep, attract defenders towards him and find solutions to pick out runners going beyond, while Diaz is constantly attuned to those runs, acting as a primary outlet in the front line.
Bayern’s fourth goal highlighted this dynamic perfectly, as Kane dropped into a midfield zone between PSG’s two pressing units, forcing Neves to jump out and attempt to apply pressure on the ball.
But Diaz was quick to make the run in behind and offer Kane an outlet, arriving beyond Marquinhos, bringing it down beautifully in the box to take it away from the Brazilian defender, faking the shot to force a reaction before slotting it home to make it 5-4.
Overall it was a brilliant game for the neutral, attacking and brave football from both sides, which Luis Enrique described as a game his side “deserved to win, draw and lose”. That sums it up perfectly.