By Andrew Warshaw
August 20 – They weren’t at their best and were never going to deliver another eight-goal blitz. But Bayern Munich, 8-2 quarterfinal conquerors of Barcelona, duly booked their place in Sunday’s Champions League final with a hard-fought 3-0 semi-final over Lyon on Wednesday to set up a dream climax against fellow big-hitters Paris St. Germain.
In all competitions, Bayern have not lost since December, their only slip-up coming in a draw against RB Leipzig in early February. If they win on Sunday, they will become the first team to clinch the trophy with a 100%. As well as Barca, they beat Chelsea 7-1 on aggregate in the last 16 and won all six games in the group stage, including a 7-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur and a 6-0 victory at Red Star Belgrade.
It’s a frightening statistic for any opponent but in PSG the Germans face a formidable adversary who are also in extraordinary form and hungry to win the trophy for the first time.
One of Europe’s biggest spenders, PSG are also one of the continent’s most high-profile under-achievers on the big stage, throwing up what promises to be a mouth-watering contest in Lisbon with match-winning superstars on both sides.
Bayern’s win over Lyon, it has to be said, was by no means perfect, with the French underdogs squandering a number of chances and hitting the post. The favourites needed an element of luck and were grateful to Serge Gnabry, whose two first-half goals put them in the driving seat.
Sunday’s showpiece is hard to call but Hansi Flick’s team are brimming with confidence and self-belief as they attempt to win European club football’s greatest prize for the sixth time but the first for seven years.
“It was an intense game and we knew it would be like that,” Flick told a news conference. “Lyon had a great performance, pressured us and we survived it with a bit of luck especially at the start.”
“Serge’s individual performance settled our nerves. His development in the past few years has been amazing and you can see that he is very close to a world-class player,” Flick said of the German international who was deemed surplus to requirements at Arsenal but has scored nine goals in as many Champions League games.
Flick knows Bayern will have to improve at the back to triumph on Sunday when they face the dual threat of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in what will be the first final in 22 years to feature two clubs who actually won their domestic league titles.
“It is clear we did not defend as well as usually,” said Flick. “The focus is now on Paris. We want to give it everything we have.”
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