Kylian Mbappe was the starman in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final match between Paris Saint Germain and Bayern Munich on Wednesday, April 7, 2021.
PSG visited Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena for the first leg of the quarter-final stage of the competition after recording 3 successive home defeats in the French Ligue 1. Hence, based on the current form of PSG, it was expected to be an easy ride for Bayern Munich.
Unfortunately for the reigning European and German Bundesliga champions, PSG did the unthinkable to earn an unprecedented 3-2 victory away from home.
Kylian Mbappe started the onslaught in the thrilling encounter as early as in the 3rd minute of the game. After his brilliant goal, his teammate, Marquinhos made it two for PSG in the 28th minute.
Bayern Munich couldn’t lay back to watch PSG run away with an easy win, hence, the German champions stepped up their game and got one goal back in the 37th minute through the boots of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
The first half of the game ended 2-1 in favor of the visitors and Bayern Munich who were without their goalscoring machine, Robert Lewandowski, came back fighting in an attempt to take control of the game in the second half.
Their determination to get back to the game almost paid off as Thomas Muller secured the equalizing goal for Bayern in the 60th minute. The draw didn’t last for too long as Kylian Mbappe scored the third goal for PSG to make it 3-2 in the 68th minute.
Afterward, both sides were unable to score more goals as the game ended 3-2 in favor of the visitors. The final scoreline means Bayern Munich must secure at least a 2-0 victory at Parc des Princes on Saturday to scale through to the next round of the Champions League.
Kylian Mbappe left the Allianz Arena with the man of the match award after scoring two goals in the encounter. The 22-year-old French striker is expected to finish the job on Saturday when Bayern Munich visit Paris this weekend.
𝐋'𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 😏✌️🏆
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) April 7, 2021
⚽️⚽️ @KMbappe
📸 @ChampionsLeague #UCLPOTM | #UCL I #𝗙𝗖𝗕𝗣𝗦𝗚 pic.twitter.com/yOWLUIuABQ
If PSG can finish the job at Parc des Princes on Saturday, it will be the first time in the history of the club to knock out Bayern Munich from the competition. It will also be sweet revenge for PSG who lost 1-0 to Bayern in the final of the competition last season.
After the game, Kylian Mbappe said: “After the first goal, we stayed back and Bayern Munich put a lot of pressure [on us] but at half-time, the coach said to keep the confidence and don’t be scared to play and that’s what we did. In the second half, it was so much better.
“It was a little bit difficult in the first 15 minutes of the second half and they equalized but after we scored the last goal we kept the result.
“It was a difficult game against the best team in Europe at the moment but we played well. We played like a team, the collective was good. My teammates were so good and I want to say congratulations to all the team.
“But this is only the first game and we have another game at home and we have to stay focused on the game.”
While the coach of PSG, Mauricio Pochettino said: “When you win, it’s always easier to explain your decisions, everyone thinks you made the right choices. The credit goes to the players, they are the main protagonists, it is their quality that must be highlighted.
“There were a lot of sacrifices tonight, but we still have one game, 90 minutes to play. The first leg is favourable but the return will be difficult as we know.
“It’s a totally different result from the first leg against Barca, the advantage there is as small as possible. We hope that our performance in the return will be better than against Barcelona, that’s our desire.”
