PSG looking to repeat 2021 feat at Allianz Arena

“Mbappe stars as PSG take revenge on Bayern Munich.” This is how BeSoccer headlined PSG's win over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena on April 7th, 2021. An iconic victory due to the circumstances, amid the snow and on an empty stage because of COVID-19. It was also a major milestone for the French side, who avenged their defeat in the final of the previous Champions League and put an end to the unbeaten run of Hansi Flick's Bayern.
More than two years after their last defeat, the Bavarians lost in Europe in a match in which, on the face of it, they did not deserve to do so. A simple review of the statistics is revealing: Bayern took 31 shots to PSG's 6, but only 38.7% of the Flick's shots were on target with Choupo-Moting particularly poor in the absence of Robert Lewandowski.
PSG were very clinical, with superb Kylian Mbappe (brace) and Neymar (two assists) building a win in which Keylor Navas also played a key role when Bayern were on target. For their part, the Bavarians were a disaster at the back. Bixente Lizarazu, a historic former player of the German club, defined it perfectly after the match. “Against Mbappe you can't defend that badly,” he said after the Germans' defeat at the Allianz.
Keylor Navas, who made 10 saves in that match, made sure that Pochettino's side would go on to qualify for the semifinals in the second leg despite losing 1-2 at the Parc des Princes. That match, by the way, followed the opposite script to the one at the Allianz, with a much more inspired PSG and a Bayern side that miraculously escaped with a win that in the end was of no use to them.
Back to the Parisian feat in the first leg, it snapped Bayern Munich's unbeaten run of 19 matches in a row, with 18 wins and a draw, in the Champions League. Of all these matches, only the three initial victories belonged to Niko Kovac, while Hansi Flick managed the remaining 15 wins and the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid.
Bayern-PSG has become a classic in recent times in the Champions League. The two teams met in the group stage of the 2017-18 season, with the French side winning at the Parc des Princes (3-0) and the Bavarians winning at the Allianz Arena (3-1). The next meeting was already the Champions League final in Lisbon conquered by Flick's Bayern (0-1). They then met in the quarter-finals of the 2020-21 season (2-3 and 1-2) and in the round of 16 of the 2022-23 season, when the Bavarian team, already coached by Nagelsmann, took revenge and gave PSG no chance by defeating them 1-0 and 2-0. Now, the French are once again in much greater need than a German team that has no points to spare in this new opening phase of the Champions League.