PSG edged Bayern Munich in a nine-goal thriller at the Parc des Princes in the first-leg of their Champions League semifinal clash, a match that got the neutrals satisfied but what would both teams think of their defense, which conceded so many goals on such occasion?
And at the end of the game, despite both putting on an enjoyable show, neither of the teams looks happy heading into the tunnel because it is never a good sign conceding so much goals at this level, especially with the quality on their defences.
Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise, Harry Kane, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, and Luis Diaz were all at their best, scoring and creating, dribbling past bodies in twos and threes, but these also highlight their shortcomings defensively.
Imagine a 1.73m Joao Neves heading home from a corner against a Bayern Munich defence of Jonathan Tah and Dayot Upamecano, while Michael Olise literally walked through the PSG defence that hadn’t conceded in their previous three Champions League games.
It was a good watch for the neutrals, one of the best games seen this season, but neither Luis Enrique nor Vincent Kompany will be pleased with the defensive performance, which begs the question of what makes a perfect football game?
PSG – Bayern a match for the ages
Not every day do you see PSG concede four at the Parc des Princes in a European game. In fact, one would have to go back two decades for the last time it happened, during a 4-2 UEFA Cup defeat to Apoel Tel Aviv in November 2006.
And for Bayern Munich, they hadn’t conceded five in a European match since a 5-2 loss to Ajax in the back in April 1995, during a Champions League semi-finals second leg clash at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.
But it all happened on Tuesday night at the Parc des Princes, where fans could not take their eyes off the action for the slightest minutes. From kickoff to final whistle, it was attack against defence at both ends, and attack almost always come out on top each time.
Bayern Munich created six chances, while PSG had two, but even though both teams scored on half of those chances, they were able to combine for five more goals.
The flow in attack for both teams was unstoppable. From Luis Diaz winning the penalty converted by Harry Kane for the opener inside the first 20 minutes to Kvaratskhelia leveling the score and Joao Neves heading the host in front for the first time on the night, it was one twist after another.
Michael Olise produced a brilliant solo goal to restore parity, but PSG would take the lead again late in stoppage time before halftime, with Ousmane Dembele converting a controversial penalty for a supposed handball by Alphonso Davies.
Kvaratskhelia and Dembele scored again before the hour mark to give the defending champions a three goal cushion, but further goals from Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz ensured that PSG will have just one-goal advantage when the second-leg kick-off next week in Munich.
What does a nine-goal thriller say for both teams?
Definitely not one to be proud of.
In Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich boasts one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and it was thanks to his heroics in the quarter-final first-leg in Madrid that they made it past Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr’s Real Madrid.
But on the night in the Parc des Princes, he couldn’t save any of the shot on target faced, a statistical anomaly for a goalkeeper of his statue, as he ended up conceding five goals, as many as Arsenal have conceded in 12 games in the competition this season.
Despite being shielded by international defenders for France and Germany in Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah, and the midfield duo of Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandr Pavlovic, there was no preventing PSG penetration.
On the other end, PSG have currently the best fullbacks in the world, but both Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi struggled against Olise and Diaz, while Marquinhos, Pacho and Safonov didn’t have a fun outing either.
But while we pass the blames to the defenders, both managers and the aggrieved will also blame their attackers, as their wayward forays meant they showed limited defensive awareness, leaving their teammates exposed.
Although Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia said before the match, that Luis Enrique always demands they contribute defensively and even praised the Spaniard for helping improve him defensively, he, and his compatriots forgot that principle on the night.
How both teams performed defensively
Of all the 15 players that featured for Luis Enrique’s PSG on the night, only Joao Neves made double digits of defensive contributions with exactly 10, while it was eight and six for the center-back pair of Pacho and Marquinhos respectively.
Apart from Vitinha who also had six, none of the other 11 players registered more than three defensive contributions on a night where Bayern Munich were constantly knocking on the door.
For the Bavarians, Pavlovic led the way with nine, although his partner Joshua Kimmich didn’t manage any, the young midfielder was followed by Dayot Upamecano with eight.
The attacking trio of Kane, Olise and Diaz combined for just five, while the numbers are also disappointing for the other players in the team, except Jamal Musiala who registered four before his withdrawal just over 10 minutes from time.
What makes a perfect football match?
Clubs invest millions in every aspect of the pitch, so to claim a nine-goal thriller between two of the best teams in Europe is the perfect match would be to undermine the contributions of defenders.
For a purist and certainly for managers of Enrique and Kompany’s caliber, a perfect football match is not defined by defensive anarchy, but by a precarious and balance between clinical attack and resolute defense.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the nine-goal chaos in Paris will be remembered as a historic entertainment piece, but it will be studied by the two coaching staffs as a manual of what not to do.
For Luis Enrique and Vincent Kompany, the joy of the goals scored will be heavily outweighed by the haunting ease with which they were conceded, because when you have no control, things could get worse.
Even though fans find it thrilling, a perfect football match is not a lopsided festival of scoring, but a symphony where the percussion of the defense is just as vital as the flow of the attack, especially given the context of PSG-Bayern clash, where the cushion is more important than the total goal count.
Watching his team blow a three-goal cushion, Luis Enrique will not be pleased, and neither will Vincent Kompany after his team went three goals down in a match where they were more dominant. It was a lucky escape for both, and neither would want that position again.
Last season, the world thought the bests semi-final tie was the 7-6 aggregate scoreline between Inter and Barcelona, only for the former to lose 5-0 to PSG in the final. Why? I guess the article answers the question.
As these two giants prepare for the second leg in Munich, the objective will not be to replicate the nine-goal madness, but to find the defensive discipline that was left behind in the tunnel at the Parc des Princes.
For in the knockout stages of the Champions League, history favors the balanced, not just the brave.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
