Bayern 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain: Clinical Katoto makes the difference

Paris Saint-Germain's all-time top scorer Marie-Antoinette Katoto scored in both halves at Fußball Arena München to give Bayern a mountain to climb when this UEFA Women's Champions League quarter-final is decided at the Parc des Princes next week.

Match in brief: Katoto takes charge

Marie-Antoinette Katoto opens the scoringGetty Images

Klara Bühl struck a late free-kick to give Bayern hope for the second leg after they trailed to Katoto's double in front of 13,000 fans in Munich. The German side made a bright start but fell behind when Katoto blasted home after Kadidiatou Diani's effort had thumped against the crossbar.

Bayern came close to levelling when substitute Sydney Lohmann's shot clipped the outside of the post, but Katoto doubled the lead soon after, climbing highest at the near post to guide Sandy Baltimore's corner past Janina Leitzig. Lohmann had a header pushed onto the post by Barbora Votíková before Bühl's powerful free-kick did beat the Paris keeper to halve the deficit.

Visa Player of the Match: Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris)

Marie-Antoinette Katoto with her awardUEFA via Getty Images

"Strong in the air, a determined and smart player who can hold the ball, supports her team-mates and is very fast with good technique. The match winner."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Reporter's view

Anna-Sophia Vollmerhausen, match reporter: Bayern could have come away with at least a draw given the number of chances they had. We always knew this game would be close between two such attacking sides, and Bühl's late free-kick to cut the deficit will give FCB hope going into next week's meeting. Paris were very clinical tonight, and it's clear to see why they are among this year's favourites.

Reaction

Didier Ollé-Nicolle, Paris coach: "It was a good [first leg]. Before the game, I said to the players that it would be difficult because it's Bayern and they had many opportunities. They have played together for three to five years and they are very good, so we will need to keep that in mind for the second leg."

Amanda Ilestedt, Paris defender: "Of course we are very happy with the win. It was a tough game for us against a really good Bayern side. We were really efficient today: we took our chances and then we were really working hard for each other. We're happy with the win and now we have to be focused on the next game."

Jens Scheuer, Bayern coach: "I think we were the better team in the first half, and were very active down the wings but lacked that final touch. We were up against a top European side, with a lot of quality. We delivered a fantastic performance. We were maybe a bit too rushed for parts of the first half, but we dominated much of the game, hit the post three times and were also a bit unlucky."

Klara Bühl, Bayern forward: "I was happy to help the team get one back. The fans were really loud and it really helped us, especially when we were close to netting the equaliser. We were very happy to see so many fans here tonight."

Klara Bühl pulled one back from a free-kickGetty Images

Key stats

• Paris have won all seven games in this competition so far this season and had scored 27 unanswered goals before Bühl's free-kick.
• Katoto now has 11 goals for Paris from nine games in 2022.
• The result ended a run of eight straight home wins in Europe (with only one goal conceded) for Bayern.
• This was the first time Bayern's women had played at Fußball Arena München, with 13,000 fans in attendance.

Line-ups

Bayern: Leitzig; Glas, Wenninger, Viggósdóttir, Gwinn (Simon 85); Magull (Dallmann 74), Zadrazil (Lohmann 63), Kumagai; Schüller (Damnjanović 74), Bühl, Asseyi (Rall 63)

Paris: Votíková; Lawrence, De Almeida, Ilestedt, Karchaoui; Geyoro (Luana 85), Hamraoui, Däbritz (Diallo 41); Diani, Katoto (Huitema 85), Baltimore (Bachmann 75)