Defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were beaten 2-1 by 10-man Bayern Munich in the Champions League at Parc des Princes on Tuesday. Luis Diaz scored both goals in an impressive first half but then saw red just before half-time for a reckless challenge on Achraf Hakimi. PSG hit back after the break, pulling one goal back through substitute Joao Neves, but Bayern managed to hang on for all three points.
AFPBayern beat PSG despite red card for Diaz
Bayern dominated an incident-packed first half and will wonder how they made it to the break only 2-0 ahead. Diaz needed less than four minutes to break the deadlock, firing home after Lucas Chevalier had blocked a shot from Michael Olise following a quick counter.
The German giants kept getting in behind PSG and saw Aleksandar Pavlovic fire narrowly wide and Serge Gnabry hit both posts with one shot before Diaz bagged his brace. This time he caught Marquinhos napping, nicking the ball off the dawdling Brazilian's toes and then slotting another strike home.
Josip Stanisic thought he’d made it 3-0 just before the break but saw his effort ruled out for offside, before Diaz went from hero to villain. The Colombia international lunged in two-footed on Achraf Hakimi in a challenge which saw the PSG star helped off the pitch in tears and the referee brandish the red card for Diaz after a VAR check.
The dismissal saw Vincent Kompany take off the influential Gnabry at half-time for Tom Bischof, with the new man booked almost immediately after arriving. PSG went on to enjoy plenty more possession but struggled to work Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal initially.
Goncalo Ramos and Joao Neves were sent on as Luis Enrique tried to find a way back into the game and the breakthrough eventually came. Neves halved the deficit on the volley after a great ball in from Kang-in Lee with just 15 minutes of normal time remaining.
The goal gave PSG hope and the chances continued to come. Neves headed another opportunity wide as PSG kept on pushing for an equaliser but Bayern clung on for a huge win against the defending champions.
AdvertisementThe MVP
Diaz was Bayern's best player in the first half but his senseless red card ended his claims for the MVP award. Instead it goes to Bayern team-mate Dayot Upamecano, who was rock-solid in the heart of the backline, particularly during the second half when the visitors played a man down and faced all sort of pressure from the defending European champions.
The big loser
Marquinhos deserves a mention for an error-strewn game but there's no doubt that Diaz overshadowed the Brazilian with his needless red card. Bayern were absolutely cruising heading into the break with a 2-0 lead and having also seen PSG lose talisman Ousmane Dembele to injury. Diaz had played a starring role for Bayern but a reckless and needless foul on birthday boy Hakimi looks to have caused a serious injury to the PSG defender and left Bayern having to play the second half a man down. The Colombian will also now face a suspension in the Champions League which will be a blow to Bayern ahead of their next fixture in the competition against Arsenal.
AFPMatch rating (out of five): ⭐⭐⭐⭐
