Defeated 1 to 0 at the Parc des Princes by the Bavarians on Tuesday February 14, the Parisians and the Munich residents are preparing to play the return match. A fourteenth confrontation in the history of the two clubs.
As PSG play the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday March 8, 2023 in Munich, the two clubs offered spectators some legendary and sometimes disappointing matches. Often put in difficulty by the club from the French capital in the early 2000s, Bayern Munich then reversed the trend between 2015 and today.
With 7 to 6 wins, Munich have the lead advantage. In five games in Germany, PSG have only managed to win twice. The heaviest defeat suffered by the Parisians dates back to October 22, 1997. At the time, they lost 5-1. A score that in no case the men of Christophe Galtier wish to collect on March 8.
This is the first act between the two clubs in the Champions League, the beginning of a rich history which turned to the advantage of PSG, winner 2 to 0. Bayern Munich struggled during this period in the Championship and were deprived of the 1993 Golden Ball Jean-Pierre Papin injured. The 1995 Ballon d’Or responded with PSG by beating Oliver Kahn in the 41st minute. German defence.
Qualified, PSG decided that day to play for first place. The game is tight. The two goalkeepers Oliver Kahn and Bernard Lama were very good in the cages. The Parisians relied on their star striker, “Mister Weah” who, like on the first leg, scored a goal. He found the skylight in the 80th minute, more than enough for the Parisians who finished 1st in the group after this success at the Olympic Stadium in Munich.
PSG arrived in Munich troubled by revelations about Vincent Guérin who tested positive for nandrolone (anabolic steroid) just before the game. Morale dry, his teammates were not helped either by the errors of goalkeeper Christophe Revault who condemned the Parisian hopes. The lonely goalkeeper lived a disaster evening like the French pitifully beaten 5-1.
Beating a European great like Bayern Munich 3-1 turned out to be a great performance. Because in November 1997, it was a Bayern Munich undefeated for 17 games who showed up at the Parc des Princes. To stay in contention in the competition, PSG had to win and the club did magnificently well thanks to the emblematic captain of the capital, Rai, who knew how to galvanize his partners.
Bayern Munich have almost always had legends in their nets and at the time that was already the case with Oliver Kahn. On the PSG side, there was Nicolas Anelka who had already found his way to the net against this opponent. If the French striker did not manage to repeat his performance, it was his teammate Laurent Leroy with a superb strike who came to deceive the furious German captain at the end of the match lost by the Bavarians 1 to 0.
Bayern Munich wanted to clear things up by scoring a goal in the 3rd minute. Paulo Sergio made it worse late in the game to give his side a 2-0 win. After the group stage, the two clubs finally qualified, finishing ahead of Rosenborg BK and Helsingborgs IF.
The MCN, the NCM or the MNC, the attacking trio of PSG looked great with the recent arrivals of Neymar, Brazilian star from FC Barcelona and the UFO Mbappé in the summer of 2017. The Parc des Princes was almost a impregnable fortress and once again, in the first leg of the Champions League, the Parisians demonstrated it by pulverizing Bayern Munich 3-0. The Parisians were valiant, efficient and surgical that evening.
The Bavarians, defeated by a wide margin 3-0 in the first leg, were keen to defeat PSG at home even if the meeting itself had no sporting interest. The Parisians were guaranteed to finish top of Group B thanks to goal difference. They were at 15 points, Bayern at 12 and the other opponents at 3 and 0 points. With a 3-1 win over PSG on December 5, 2017, the Germans got that feeling of revenge and accomplishment.
This is the only meeting that has been played between the two clubs without any real stakes. In this pre-season match for the International Champions Cup tournament, PSG lost on neutral ground (Austria) 3-1. Bayern Munich made 9 changes during the game while PSG made 6. Both teams also fielded a so-called bis team, proof of the importance given to this competition.
The context was very special. The final phase of the Champions League, due to Covid-19, took place in Portugal. The matches were played without a double confrontation. For the first time since the Qatari era, the Parisians found themselves in the final against Bayern Munich. They were very close to the grail. PSG had the chances and Manuel Neuer was great. As time went by, Bayern Munich took matters into their own hands, taking the lead thanks to a former member of the club, Kingsley Coman. The French allowed the German club to win a 6th Champions League that day.
Big hit for Mauricio Pochettino’s side who went through all their troubles tonight April 7, 2021. It’s a replay of the previous year’s Champions League final which saw Bayern Munich lift their 6th cup “with big ears”. With very different intentions from 2020, the Parisians very quickly took the lead with 2 goals in the first thirty minutes. Bayern Munich did not let go and came back to score after the second Bavarian goal scored by Muller. But as often in Europe, PSG relied on Mbappé who responded with a double in the 68th minute. PSG won 3-2 despite Bayern Munich’s 31 attempts.
PSG lost and PSG qualified on three away goals in the first leg. In the return match played at the Parc des Princes, the Parisians were dominating but they did not have the expected success. Neymar, for example, hit twice the amounts. Bayern Munich, through Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting managed to score. Insufficient, however, to get rid of the clutches of PSG, which this time did not tremble.
It was a few days ago. And everyone remembers this missed opportunity. Bayern were not at all conquering. The Parisians were even enterprising at the end of the game. Too late, however, they did not have enough “depth, we fell back. We had trouble holding the ball, we were cornered”, admitted Christophe Galtier at a press conference. The Munich residents simply did what was necessary by coming to win on the lawn of the Parc des Princes through Kingsley Coman, who once again turned into a liberator (after 2020). The entry of Mbappé in the 57th minute, still fragile due to his injury, did not change the face of the match.
