Tag: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting

Bayern condemn PSG to yet another Champions League disappointment

PSG once again came up short in the Champions League

Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League agonies will last for at least another year.

PSG’s wait for European glory carried on Wednesday as they crashed out of the Champions League in the round of 16 after a 3-0 aggregate loss to a disciplined, clinical Bayern Munich.

At the Allianz Arena, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s second half goal condemned a short-handed PSG to more Champions League disappointment, with the Ligue 1 juggernaut once again not able to translate domestic dominance at a continental level. Serge Gnabry tacked on a late goal to ensure celebrations in Bavaria.

Bayern’s game-winning goals in the two legs both came from ex-PSG players, with Choupo-Moting having left them for Bayern in 2020 and first-leg scorer Kingsley Coman a PSG academy product.

It’s been like this for a long, long time. PSG’s lone European trophy remains the 1995-96 Cup Winners’ Cup, which is a competition that stopped existing before the turn of the century. They have had some close calls, losing the 2019-20 final (again to Bayern), but today’s defeat comes at a familiar stage. This is the fifth time in the last seven seasons they’ve been eliminated at the first knockout hurdle.

That will likely result in some real pressure for manager Christophe Galtier, though injuries to Neymar (which likely influenced a formation change), Presnel Kimpembe, and Renato Sanches were further compounded by multiple enforced substitutions on Wednesday.

Despite those issues, PSG competed on equal terms for a long spell of the first half in a second leg they had to win. However, once the golden opportunity to equalize arrived, they weren’t ready.

Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer, having received a back-pass, was pressured by Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi, with the latter jarring the ball loose with a tackle. Sommer attempted a lunging tackle of his own on Vitinha, who calmly dodged that effort and sized up an empty net.

Surely the moment for PSG, right?

Wrong. Matthijs de Ligt sprinted onto the scene seemingly from nowhere, arriving just in time to slice Vitinha’s rolling shot off the line. Leo Messi had his head in his hands, Marco Verratti literally fell down upon seeing the shot not actually give them a lead, and PSG were stuck at 0-0.

In retrospect, it was a moment that changed the match. PSG’s Champions League misfortunes only grew: Marquinhos had been substituted due to a possible hip injury just two minutes before de Ligt’s denial, compounding PSG’s availability problems.

It only got worse, though, as his replacement Nordi Mukiele was then replaced at halftime by El Chadaille Bitshiabu.

Bayern sensed a foe that lacked the confidence befitting a side that can start Mbappé and Messi together, and pounced as the second half wore on. Choupo-Moting thought he had his goal in the 51st minute, but VAR ended up pulling it back after Thomas Müller was judged to be offside and involved in the play as he reached out for what turned out to be an unnecessary stab at a finish.

This should have been the wake-up call for PSG, but they never really got going again. Choupo-Moting would strike again shortly thereafter, and this time PSG wasn’t saved by VAR. Müller and Leon Goretzka pressured Verratti into a turnover, with Goretzka drawing the defense before sliding a pass over to the Cameroon striker for a simple finish.

For Choupo-Moting it marked his team-leading 17th of the season; for PSG, it was effectively game over. The Parisians only truly came close to making a game of it through Sergio Ramos’ 64th minute header, only for Sommer to come up with a top-drawer save. Such is life when you’re PSG in the Champions League.

Serge Gnabry would finish the game off late, firing home after João Cancelo’s 70-yard run left a scrambling PSG defense with little hope of intervention.

Bayern will join Chelsea, AC Milan, Benfica, and four more teams in the quarterfinal draw, while PSG’s herd of superstars will be left pondering what it will take to actually advance in this competition.

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