Paris 0-1 Bayern: Coman haunts former club again in Champions League round of 16 first leg

Kingsley Coman, scorer of the only goal when these teams met in the 2020 final, once again made the difference as Bayern beat Paris 1-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.

Match in brief: Coman makes the difference

Kingsley Coman (left) is congratulated on his goalAFP via Getty Images

Paris looked content to cede possession to Bayern for much of the first half and limited the visitors to only Joshua Kimmich's effort just prior to the break. Eight minutes after the interval, though, half-time substitute Alphonso Davies crossed from the left and former Paris winger Coman drifted in unnoticed at the back post to side-foot first-time under Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Donnarumma's reflexes came to the rescue ten minutes later when he turned Eric Choupo-Moting’s close-range effort onto the woodwork before then denying Benjamin Pavard from the subsequent corner.

Kylian Mbappé's earlier introduction off the bench had given Paris an outlet and he twice nearly hauled the hosts back into it. First, Yann Sommer came to the rescue; second, when Mbappé did have the ball in the net, the goal was ruled out for an earlier offside against the increasingly influential Nuno Mendes.

Pavard blocked a Lionel Messi shot late on before being shown a red card in added time.

PlayStation® Player of the Match: Kingsley Coman (Bayern)

"Coman was the outlet where Bayern created all the threat in the first half. He switched wings at half-time and scored the winning goal with a cool and precise first-time finish. He also showed huge work-rate off the ball, allowing Bayern to stop Paris at source."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Jordan Maciel, match reporter

All the talk before the game was about whether or not Mbappé would play, and that it wouldn't matter to Bayern anyway because Julian Nagelsmann wasn't calling Christophe Galtier's bluff. Well, the Frenchman did come on, and in the end it didn't matter. Nagelsmann's side deserved their win on the night, which came in familiar circumstances; Paris-born Coman meeting a deep cross at the back post to seal a 1-0 victory.

Paris came to life too late after Mbappé's introduction, but will be reassured that they are still well and truly in this tie. It's perfectly poised for part two on 8 March.

Reaction 

Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern coach: "We didn't expect Paris to be so passive; it was a good first half. After the break, we had a great start and then things hung in the balance a little, though the two times they really threatened it was offside."

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Bayern forward: "We definitely had good phases. The first 25 minutes were good. We also started the second half well. In the end it was quite close, but Paris are a very good team, so we are very happy that we won."

Yann Sommer, Bayern goalkeeper: "We had the game under control in the first half, but we had a bit more about us after the break. We're a little closer [to the quarter-finals] than before, but the second leg won't be a walk in the park."

Sergio Ramos, Paris defender: "I’m very disappointed for the supporters. We'll have to show more character in the second leg. We want to win and be the best we can be, but this is the nature of football. Sometimes we play well, sometimes we play badly."

Kylian Mbappé , Paris forward: "We have to move on quickly. We're going over there to qualify. Our players have to be in good health for the return leg, everyone needs to eat and sleep well. When we play attacking football, it's uncomfortable for them."

Key stats

• None of the 12 UEFA Champions League meetings between these two teams has ended in a draw; each has won six apiece.
• Bayern are now unbeaten in their last 11 round of 16 first legs.
• The Bundesliga champions have won 33 of their last 38 UEFA Champions League games (D3 L2) and have found the net in all but one of their last 39 fixtures.
• This was Paris's first UEFA Champions League home defeat in eight matches and the first time they had failed to score in their last 15 outings in the competition.
• The French side have now lost their last three games in all competitions.
• Aged 16 years and 343 days, Warren Zaïre-Emery became the youngest player ever to start a UEFA Champions League knockout game.

Warren Zaïre-Emery is just 16 years and 343 daysGetty Images

Fantasy star performers

Kingsley Coman – 11 points
Matthijs de Ligt – 8 points
Yann Sommer – 7 points

Line-ups

Paris: Donnarumma; Hakimi (Kimpembe 46), Ramos, Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes; Zaïre-Emery (Fabián Ruiz 57), Danilo (Vitinha 75), Verratti, Soler (Mbappè 57); Messi, Neymar

Bayern: Sommer; Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt; João Cancelo (Davies 46), Kimmich, Goretzka, Coman (Gnabry 75); Sané (Stanišić 90), Musiala (Gravenberch 87); Choupo-Moting (Müller 75)