The lessons Paris Saint-Germain must take from their Bayern defeat earlier this season

Luis Enrique and his players trudge off after losing against Bayern in November Franck Fife/Getty Images Share articleNearly six months after meeting at Parc des Princes on matchday four in the Champions League’s league phase, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich lock horns once more in the semi-final. Both sides can learn from Bayern’s 2-1 win at the start of November. The Bundesliga side were 2-0 up approaching half-time before Luis Diaz, who had scored both goals, got himself sent off for a bizarre, reckless two-footed tackle on PSG defender Achraf Hakimi. Vincent Kompany’s side managed to see out the win despite Joao Neves pulling one back for the hosts, who lost Ousmane Dembele to injury in the first half and tried to salvage a result with a makeshift attack. The standout point from the opening 45 minutes is that PSG have to be better against Bayern’s press — arguably these are Europe’s two best sides for squeezing and smothering opponents. Luis Enrique’s selection of the technically accomplished Lucas Chevalier in goal over shot-stopping specialist Matvey Safonov indicated how he wanted PSG to play. Bayern pressed aggressively from the first minute and went man-to-man. Their systems largely matched up (4-3-3 vs 4-2-3-1) and centre-back Dayot Upamecano was the one to step out and cover PSG midfielder Fabian Ruiz. The opening goal in the fourth minute came about from excellent Bayern pressing. Upamecano jumped forward to Dembele, his France team-mate, and the turnover fell to Joshua Kimmich. Within two passes and the blink of an eye, attacking midfielder Serge Gnabry had flicked a pass through to Michael Olise. The winger’s second touch let him down, leaving the ball stuck under his feet, and Chevalier closed the space to smother the one-v-one. Diaz, though, was one of three Bayern forwards to sprint to the box. He fired in the rebound for the earliest goal PSG had conceded in the Champions League for nearly seven years (since Romelu Lukaku scored against them for Manchester United after just two minutes in 2019). Bayern and Diaz’s second, 28 minutes later, stemmed from an even simpler moment. PSG captain Marquinhos brought down a bouncing ball and did not spot Diaz pressing him until it was too late. The Colombia international produced a nearly identical finish, firing across Chevalier and into the far corner. As technically and tactically brilliant as the PSG side are, they have to be mindful of Bayern’s out-of-possession quality. Kompany’s team top the Champions League charts for final-third regains (76, an average of 6.3 per game, with over a quarter leading to attempts on goal). Gnabry hit both posts after 30 minutes when Bayern won the ball in midfield and counter-attacked at speed. PSG did not learn from the warning shot. Vitinha continued to drop deep, receive from the centre-backs and try to connect with the midfielders despite pressure from Kimmich. Meanwhile, PSG’s wingers came short too, trying to offer ball-to-feet options and turn out the press. It left them without enough bodies upfield. Here’s a good example where Dembele and Bradley Barcola made runs towards Marquinhos. Hakimi, playing high and narrow, makes a useful run between Bayern’s centre-back and left-back, but has no options and is forced to pass back to Barcola. A second necessary improvement is for Luis Enrique’s side to defend Bayern striker Harry Kane better. Admittedly, Bayern are very hard to stop. Goals and assists come at all angles from Kane, Diaz and Olise. PSG struggled to match their visitors’ out-of-possession intensity, and were too loose on the England international whenever he dropped in and looked to play long, vertical passes to break the press. Part of PSG’s struggles owed to two unlikely first-half injuries. Dembele limped off after 25 minutes, replaced by technical midfielder Lee Kang-in. Hakimi had to be subbed because of the damage done by that Diaz tackle on the stroke of half-time. Another midfielder, Senny Mayulu, replaced him, with Warren Zaire-Emery moving from No 8 to full-back. From there, PSG became rather predictable. They had an abundance of passers on the pitch but few obvious threats. Bayern’s 5-3-1 became about defending the half-spaces and doubling up on PSG wingers Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia — the duo most likely to provide a route back into the game. Initially, the threat was left-back Nuno Mendes down the left, making runs in behind and trying to cross low. He produced one great ball for Barcola, who scuffed a first-time shot, as he and Kvaratskhelia played narrow. Things got better with the arrival of midfielder Neves and striker Goncalo Ramos, who provided a focal point and made crosses a much more realistic tactic. PSG suddenly found creativity on their right through Lee’s inswinging deliveries and Mayulu’s late runs, which were leading to cutbacks. Neves brought them back into the match on 73 minutes, attacking the back post to meet Lee’s cross — the positioning and movement of Ramos deserves credit here, occupying Upamecano to give Neves a free run. Just a minute before, Mayulu’s underlap nearly led to a tap-in for Ramos. Arguably, PSG should have brought on Ramos and Neves at half-time. Bayern’s game plan was an obvious one, with a 2-0 half-time lead, a man down and centre-backs very capable of defending their box — Kompany’s side ended the game with 32 clearances, their second-most in any Champions League match since 2018. The desperation for PSG could be seen late on as more and more long-range shots were fired in, all of which Manuel Neuer dealt with comfortably. Eleven of PSG’s 19 second-half efforts came from outside the box. Neves almost repeated his goal seven minutes after scoring, as Lee produced another inswinging cross — this time following a short corner — and he found space, but headed wide. This first semi-final leg is PSG’s biggest match all season. Ligue 1 have rearranged games to give them extra rest, something that makes logical sense but has potentially done more harm than good given their patchy league form, with challengers Lens right behind them. Defeats this year against Rennes, Monaco and Lyon can all be put down to PSG failing to recover after going 1-0 down in the first half. Their efforts to retain the European crown that they won so stylishly last term have not been anywhere near as scintillating. Yet, perhaps they do not have to be, nor ever will. The better part of a decade has passed since Real Madrid won back-to-back finals — the only team in the Champions League era (1992 onwards) to manage the feat. And Bayern are an old foe for PSG. They lost to them in the 2020 final, played behind closed doors during the Covid-19 pandemic, with France international and former PSG academy graduate Kingsley Coman netting the winner. Since then, the record is 5-1 in Bayern’s favour, having knocked the French champions out in 2020-21 (quarter-finals) and 2022-23 (round of 16). If PSG are to avoid a repeat, they need to rewatch the defeat in November — and learn. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms