Bayern Munich defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the Parc des Princes this evening in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, with Kingsley Coman once again managing to score against his former club.
The result gives Bayern a major advantage going into the second leg at the Allianz Arena in just over three weeks time, having withstood a late siege from PSG after the introduction of Kylian Mbappe in the second half.
The opening 45 minutes proved to be cagey, with both teams struggling to create many clear-cut opportunities, but the German side had the best chances to score, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting looking particularly lively.
In the early stages of the game, the Bavarians dominated possession, and PSG struggled to gain a foothold in the game, with the hosts struggling to craft anything of note in the opposition third.
Perhaps owing to the absence of talisman Mbappe, who was only deemed fit enough for a place on the substitutes' bench, the Parisians only managed to register one shot in the entire first half, with that coming from a tame Lionel Messi free kick in additional time.
After a disappointing start to the game, both managers made substitutions at half time, with Alphonso Davies entering the fray for Bayern, and the Canadian left-back had an instant impact on proceedings.
The 22-year-old collected the ball on the left, before whipping the ball to an unmarked Coman at the far post, who made no mistake in firing the ball past Donnarumma, although in truth the goalkeeper probably should have done better.
It is not the first time that the Frenchman has got on the scoresheet against his former club, with the goal reminiscent of the winner in the 2020 Champions League final, and with Christophe Galtier keen to avoid a repeat of that result, the PSG boss brought Mbappe on without hesitation.
The Frenchman sparked into life in the latter stages of the game, testing Yann Sommer for the first time after racing onto the end of a ball over the top, before finding the back of the net after pouncing on a rebounded Neymar effort, only to be denied by the linesman's flag.
VAR was required to disallow another effort from the 24-year-old, while Messi was denied the chance to equalise with a fantastic block from Benjamin Pavard, putting his body on the line to preserve his team's lead, but the defender will not be available for the return leg as he was sent off in stoppage time for a second booking, after a sliding tackle on Messi.
Despite Bayern losing their grip on the game, they managed to hold on for an important win, but you cannot help but feel the complexion of the match could be very different in just over three weeks time should Mbappe be available from the start.
Dominic Lund
