CL Final Review

This year’s Champions league final came with all you could ask for, in the games biggest club competition, whether that be subplots before the game, drama during the game and records after. The final came between two of Europe’s elite clubs and possibly the two best teams this year, one of France’s top clubs and, state funded, Paris Saint Germain and the arguably the biggest club in Germany, FC Bayern Munchen. This year’s final came with a twist though (the first subplot of the game), the winner of the Champions League would get their name written in the history books, Bayern Munchen being only the second team winning the treble a second time or whether PSG could make their season a comparable one to that of Barca’s 08/09 team by winning the quintuple. Either way one team will have their names written among legends. 

There have only been seven different teams teams to have won the treble, and the similarities between them is they all had a talisman to get them to that point, 14/15 and 08/09 Barcelona with Messi, 09/10 with Wesley Sneijder, 98/99 with David Beckham, all these are undisputed legends of the game. This year’s final came down to men from each club, Robert Lewandowski of Munchen and Neymar of PSG.

 There are many similarities between Neymar and Lewandowski when you look past position and play style. Both men dramatically switched clubs, with Neymar being the most expensive player in the history of football and Lewandowski switching BVB yellow for the Red of FCB, not just that but for a free. Each of these men as well daunted with the task of leading and finding their club European success. If it wasn’t for its cancelation, both of these men would have surely found their way to the Ballon’dor respectively. But at the end of the day these two didn’t have a say on who won the game. 

Both players had their moments during the game with Lewandowski hitting the post and an impressive reflex save to stop a bullet header. Neymar also had a few chances in this game, especially Neymar’s chance at the 18’ minute which showed off an imposing double save by Manuel Neuer. But for me this game came down to two factors, the first being the battle in midfield. PSG had a 3 man midfield of Leandro Paredes, Ander Herrera and Marquinhos. Bayern Munchen also played in a three but with Thomas Mueller doing what he does best as a roaming midfielder trying to find spaces in between the lines, Leon Goretzka playing as a box to box mid and Thiago playing a regista or a deep lying playmaker in other words. 

For me the stand out man in the midfield wasn't just one, it was two. Both Spaniards in midfield, Ander Herrera and Thiago were the key players for me. Let’s start off with Ander Herrera, the 31-year old Basque native was the best player for PSG that night, his harrowing effort of constant pressure on Bayern Munchen was a great watch. It was comparable to his player of the year performances for Manchester United in the 16/17 campaign. In the game he had 3 tackles and interceptions and contributed to 2 keypasses and 3 dribbles. 

On the other end, you have Thiago Alcantara. Though his numbers don’t speak for his performance, his display was a beauty to watch. His ability to control and dictate play can be seen in his contribution to the first and only goal of the match. The magnificent ball into the feet of Joshua Kimmich was the pass that gave Bayern and Kingsley Coman the key opportunity to score. His display on Sunday’s finals just shows you how coveted he is by many of Europe’s elite clubs, and if he were to join Liverpool, as rumored by the tabloids, it would already make England’s best team that much scarier. 

It was Thiago who began the passage of play for the games only goal, but this game wasn’t supposed to be 1-0, this game had goal fest written all over it. Each team had the highest goal scoring record in their respective leagues, so why did it end only at 1-0? Defense. 

Many social media pundits thought this game was going to be a high scoring thrill ride, with PSG exploiting the high line of Bayern and Robert Lewandowski showing his individual brilliance. But another hero of Bayern came to the form of Manuel Neuer and Lady Luck itself. Other than Ander Herrera, PSG captain Thiago Silva showed why he can still be a great signing for any club in Europe. The 35 year-old showed off his defensive prowess by contributing 2 tackles and interceptions, 6 clearances  and also had 1 block the entire game. Defensively as a unit PSG were very good that night and other than the brilliance of Manuel Neuer and a scuffed shot by Kylian Mbappe this game could have ended much differently. 

Just to show how fortunate, I won’t say lucky, Bayern were that night, expected goals had the game 1.8 to PSG and 0.9 to Bayern. This game was a shadow of the Bayern-Lyon game in which Bayern took there chances when the chances came to them. PSG like Lyon, just didn’t have their shooting boots today, and Bayern took advantage of that. Kylian Mbappe will look back on this match with horror after that scuffed chance earlier in the game, for now. But I don’t doubt that where ever the 21 year-old takes himself in the future he will have that Champions League medal in his case. 

This game is the definition of the famous quote “Defense wins championships”.  It only took a perfectly placed header, a rock solid defense and possibly a dash of Lady Luck herself but at the end of the day it’s FC Bayern Munchen who can call themselves Treble Winners and Champions of Europe. A big shout out to Alphonso Davies, the Canadian soccer team future is looking really bright.