Football Features

    “He’s not the future of football, he’s the present” – Player ratings as Mbappé and Neymar stun Bayern on the break to give PSG historic win

    By Muhammad Butt

    Published: 22:12, 7 April 2021

    In a breathless night of football, PSG beat Bayern Munich 2-3 in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg.

    Bayern dominated the game from start to finish but couldn’t find a way past a dogged PSG defence and the defending European Champions were undone on the break by PSG’s powerhouse forward line.

    Here’s how the players rated at Allianz Arena:

    Bayern Munich

    Manuel Neuer – 4 – Utterly exposed on Mbappé’s opening goal as a shot simply went through him. Could have done better on Marquinhos’ effort as well but did sweep very well behind his high defensive line and made an immense stop from Neymar early in the second-half. Got beaten at his near-post for PSG’s third but that was more down to his defenders.

    Benjamin Pavard – 7 – Nice assist for Choupo-Moting’s goal and defended his flank well.

    Niklas Sule – 4 – Got ripped to bits in the open field and was subbed off before half-time.

    David Alaba – 5 – A non-event in defence but looked much more lively when moved up into midfield albeit he still couldn’t unlock PSG.

    Lucas Hernandez – 7 – Really solid when moved into the second of defence. Stopped several PSG attacks with his positioning alone.

    Joshua Kimmich – 8 – Created a staggering 9 chances on the night through both open play and set-pieces. His crossing was a lethal weapon and he showed it when he set up Thomas Muller for Bayern’s equaliser.

    Leon Goretzka – 5 – Couldn’t impact the game one way or another before injury forced him off.

    Leroy Sané – 6 – Had lots of “nearly” moments but he couldn’t really hurt PSG with his excellent dribbling skills. Often got into space but used the ball poorly.

    Thomas Muller – 7 – Peppered PSG with shots and often looked Bayern’s biggest threat. Scored a superb header to draw them level.

    Kingsley Coman – 6 – Like Sané his dribbling was mesmeric but he all too often failed to use the ball well enough to create anything meaningful. A far cry from last season’s final when he won the game with his late header.

    Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting – 7 – Hit the bar early and then scored a fantastic header to give Bayern a chance. Some excellent hold-up play and movement but committed the cardinal sin of not being Robert Lewandowski. As well as he played you did get the obvious sensation that with the lethal Pole up-top Bayern would have overwhelmed the Parisians.

    Substitutes:

    Alphonso Davies (for Goretzka 33′) – 7 – Added some pace and thrust to the left-flank. Competed well.

    Jerome Boateng (for Sule 42′) – 5 – Got nutmegged by Mbappé on the third PSG goal after giving him too much space to shoot.

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    PSG

    Keylor Navas – 8 – Made a string of impressive saves, keeping his composure under intense circumstances and denying Bayern time and time again. Could do nothing about either goal he conceded.

    Colin Dagba – 8 – Battled really well against the pace and invention of Coman.

    Marquinhos – 8 – An absolutely titanic half an hour before injury forced him off. The Brazilian got himself in the way of absolutely everything Bayern threw at PSG, making 7 clearances and 4 blocks. He also bagged their second with the unerring finish of a season striker.

    Presnel Kimpembe – 7 – Played very well but was constantly the weak link in defence, especially with the ball.

    Abdou Diallo – 5 – Really struggled to handle Bayern’s incursions down his flank. Subbed off at half-time.

    Danilo – 8 – Looked good in midfield but struggled in defence at first. Lost Choupo-Moting for Bayern’s goal but rebounded second-half with an incredible display. Ended the night with a mammoth 13 clearances!

    Idrissa Gueye – 8 – Constantly scurrying about the field to block or get a toe in to get the ball back off Bayern. Had team-highs for tackles (3) and interceptions (2). A little shaky with his passing but a very impressive display.

    Angel Di Maria – 8 – Some very good defensive work and also played some nice passes to break Bayern’s press, including one delicious first-time pass to release Mbappé for PSG’s third goal. Went off injured and Mauricio Pochettino will be praying it isn’t serious.

    Julian Draxler – 7 – Scored but had it ruled out for offside. Otherwise worked hard defensively.

    Neymar – 9 – Absolute hocus pocus as per usual from the second best player in the world. The Brazilian set-up the first goal with a driving run and a perfectly weighted pass to Mbappé but his assist for the second goal was absolutely bonkers as he wrapped his left-foot around the ball and sent it, first-time mind you, 30 yards back over the Bayern defence and perfectly into Marquinhos’ path. Was constantly running at Bayern all second-half, getting kicked to bits in the process. But he stepped up every time, really delivering for his team.

    Kylian Mbappé – 9 – A constant menace on the break. Fortunate that Neuer fumbled his shot that went straight at him but his run to get the chance was tremendously impressive. Ran the break with Neymar and Bayern couldn’t live with his outrageous combination of pace and skill. Bagged his second game of the night and the game-winner with a lethal reverse shot through the defenders legs and into the back of the net. Having conquered the Camp Nou, King Kylmonger has now annihilated the Allianz. He’s not the future of football, he’s the present.

    Substitutes:

    Ander Herrera (for Marquinhos 30′) – 7 – Came on for the captain. Worked hard.

    Mitchel Bakker (for Diallo 46′) – 7 – Put a real shift in on the left-flank.

    Moise Kean (for Di Maria 71′) – 6 – Came on and instantly showed his incredible power. Tried to hold the ball up and kill time but could never quite bring it under his spell.

    Rafinha (for Neymar 90′) – n/a – Came on late.

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