Choupo-Moting celebrates the opening goal (©AFP)
Choupo-Moting celebrates the opening goal (©AFP)

Bayern make sure the curse continues: PSG couldn't be further away from Champion League glory

Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 09.03.23. | 00:53

Choupo-Moting and Serge Gnabry score against the Parisians in the 2-0 win in Munich

Paris Saint-Germain crashed out of the UEFA Champions League at the Round of 16 stage for the fifth time in the last seven years after going down to Bayern, courtesy of yet another Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting strike and a late killer blow from Serge Gnabry. The Bavarians made sure the Qatari project hit another bump on the road as the German champions made it eight wins in as many UCL games this season.

The Parisians arrived to Munich knowing they'll have to score at least one goal to stand any chance of making it to the quarter-final. And they made their presence felt in the Allianz Arena.

In a match featuring such attacking superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala and the like, you wouldn't expect a centre-back to provide magic- but it happened! Bayern's Dutch defender Matthijs De Ligt continued his string of strong performances by clearing Vitinha's goal-bound effort off the line with a spectacular sliding challenge. The Parisians had more of the ball but were dealt a cruel blow just after the half-hour mark when their captain Marquinhos had to come off after aggrieving the injury he sustained last weekend in the game against Nantes.

As the second half began, so did Bayern's dominance. Choupo-Moting thought he got a slight touch on a Musiala cross, but even though the ball ended up in the net - it didn't count. Muller was offside while interfering with the ball.

Christophe Galtier's team didn't pick up on the warning and were made to pay just ten minutes later. Nordi Mukiele put his teammate Marco Verratti in trouble with a pass on the edge of the area, and the Italian was dispossessed by Muller. He laid it off to Leon Goretzka, who squared it off for Choupo-Moting for an easy finish. It was 1-0 on the night and 2-0 on aggregate. PSG were officially in trouble.

On the other end, Sergio Ramos thought he gave his team a lifeline with a trademark header, but Yann Sommer dived through the air to palm it away.

The time was running out for the French side, as another early elimination from the Champions League beckoned. As the visitors kept pushing forward, it was only a matter of time before Bayern would punish them on the counter-attack. And sure enough, Serge Gnabry slammed the second on 89 minutes to kill Les Parisiens' dreams for yet another year.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

1/8 finals - 2nd leg

Tuesday

Benfica - Club Brugge 5-1 (2-0)

/Rafa Silva 38, Ramos 45, 57, Joao Mario 71(p), Neres 77 - Mejier 87/

Wednesday

Chelsea - Dortmund 2-0 (1-0)

/Sterling 43, Havertz 53 pen/

Bayern - PSG 2-0 (1-0)

/Choupo-Moting 61, Gnabry 89/

Tottenham - AC Milan 0-0

14.03. Tuesday

23:00: (2.80) Porto (3.15) Inter (2.65)

23:00: (1.45) Man.City (4.60) RB Leipzig (8.50)

15.03. Wednesday

23:00: (2.35) Real Madrid (3.50) Liverpool (3.15)

23:00: (1.57) Napoli (4.10) Eintr.Frankfurt (6.75)

***odds are subject to change***


tags

UEFA Champions LeagueBayern MunichParis Saint-GermainEric Maxim Choupo-MotingSerge GnabryMatthijs de Ligt

Other News