Bayern Munich vs PSG: 5 Talking Points

It was a long shot for Bayern Munich to top their UEFA Champions League group but they did give Paris Saint-Germain a scare as they beat the Ligue 1 side 3-1 at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night.

A goal from Robert Lewandowski and a brace from Corentin Tolisso were enough to give the Bavarian side all three points and hand the Parisian club their first defeat of the European campaign with Kylian Mbappe scoring the only goal for PSG.

Here are the major talking points from the game.

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#1 Records tumble as both Bayern and PSG score

PSG set a new club record for goals scored in a single campaign as they topped the group

It was a night where records were broken and milestones were reached as both teams got on the score sheet.

Bayern became only the third side to score 250 goals at home in the Champions League. The Bavarian side took 111 matches to get there.

The other two teams to reach that mark got there much faster, though. Real Madrid have since gone on to score 305 goals (118 matches) while Barcelona have scored 287 (114 matches).

On the other hand, PSG equalled the club record for most goals scored in a single Champions League campaign. The Ligue 1 club finished the group stage with 25 goals from six matches!

Kylian Mbappe's goal also made him the youngest player to reach 10 Champions League goals (in only 15 games). A couple of weeks shy of his 19th birthday, the young Frenchman shattered the record previously set by his compatriot Karim Benzema.

#2 Bayern Munich allow PSG to dominate possession

It was Sebastian Rudy's job to protect the Bayern defence from Neymar

Although Bayern were the home side, they allowed the visitors to have much more of the ball, opting to play on the counter-attack. They also did not bother pressing high up the pitch, with Lewandowski patrolling the centre circle when they did not have the ball.

Jupp Heynckes set up his Bayern team to play in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Sebastian Rudy sitting in front of the defence. The German midfielder did a very good job of shielding his defence, stopping the likes of Neymar getting forward when the Brazilian easily waltzed his way past the first line of defence on more than one occasion.

The tactic worked as Rudy made the most number of interceptions for the home side (as did Mats Hummels). With a 95% pass success rate, he also did well in the build-up, spoiling a couple of attacks with outrageous shots from distance.

Two of Bayern's three goals eventually came via counter-attacks as they capitalised on PSG's inability to get back into position quickly.

#3 Franck Ribery puts in a shift on the wing

Franck Ribery had a number of battles with Dani Alves

Franck Ribery is now 34 years old and yet he was asked to play in a rather unconventional role even though it was a familiar position. The Frenchman usually plays on the left of a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 but on this occasion he was quite literally a traditional winger in the 4-1-4-1 (sometimes a 4-5-1).

This meant that he had to work his socks off to get up and down his flank. Ribery spent more time near the half-line rather than closer to the final third for two reasons.

He not only had to advance the ball forward as an outlet on the left to stretch the game but he also had to protect David Alaba by providing cover to prevent Dani Alves from making forward runs on that flank.

With Alaba busy keeping Mbappe in check, someone had to take care of Alves and the captain took it upon himself to do so. It was also the first time he was captaining Bayern in more than 4 years.

The two veterans had their battles on the flank and it was Ribery who came out on top with a 100% tackle success rate. He also managed to dribble past Alves on a couple of occasions, even managing to create an opportunity in the first half.

#4 Corentin Tolisso and Kingsley Coman outshine Neymar and co.

Tolisso and Coman combined well to score Bayern's third goal

Robert Lewandowski may have got things going for Bayern with a well-taken goal (his 43rd in 66 Champions League matches) but it was midfielder Corentin Tolisso who stole the show on a night where there were far more superior attacking talents on the pitch.

The French midfielder scored either side of half-time and both goals came via runs from midfield to provide Bayern with an extra man in the box. The first saw both centre-backs following Lewandowski's movements as Tolisso stole in behind them to tuck away James Rodriguez's cross.

The second was a superb counter-attack where Kingsley Coman advanced the ball up field and waited for the correct moment to pass the ball into space where Tolisso had made his run.

Coman's pass and Tolisso's run were perfectly timed for Bayern's third goal

There were six PSG defenders in the box but Tolisso picked his spot and timed his run to perfection to receive Coman's pass and fire it past Alphonse Areola to find the back of the net.

Coman himself put in a scintillating performance as he made a nuisance of himself throughout the game. Apart from his assist, he completed 4 dribbles (the highest in the game), made 3 successful tackles, and even had two shots on target.

"I'm not surprised with Coman's performances. Every game he gives me a reason to start him in the next game." - Jupp Heynckes

#5 Bayern were simply far more clinical compared to PSG

Neymar was guilty of one too many solo runs

In the reverse fixture, Bayern were guilty of wasting a number of chances to score. They took 16 shots and failed to score while PSG scored thrice from 5 shots on target.

In this game, the tables were turned. PSG had as many as 15 shots of which 8 were on target. And yet they scored only once. Bayern, however, had 4 shots on target and scored thrice.

The only reason Bayern were so clinical compared to PSG was because they made their chances count. PSG's forward line were looking to take risks in the final third which ultimately did not pay off.

Neymar was also guilty of trying to do everything on his own on more than one occasion. Heynckes wanted to shut him down like he did in 2013 and it worked.

On the other side of the pitch, Bayern were very patient in their build-up and did not resort to blind crosses into the box. They did not attempt risky passes unless there was an opening and they made their possession count.