Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the final of the 2020 UEFA Champions League, thus completing their second continental treble.
Follow Us
The 2019-20 football season was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The break in play that lasted a few months saw many leagues either complete the season in a compressed manner or call off the season prematurely. The former option was taken for the UEFA Champions League. The remaining matches were held in a bio-secure bubble at Lisbon. This included the final, which was contested by Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain. Both teams fancied their chances but it was the German side who were the clear favourites. In the end, it was Bayern who ended up winners on the night.
With exactly a year having passed since the day, let us look back at how Bayern won their sixth UEFA Champions League title.
Both Bayern and PSG were dominant in the group stage of the tournament. Bayern’s biggest competition in the group stages were Tottenham Hotspur, who they beat 7-2 away and 3-1 at home. They ended the group stage with a 100% winning streak.
PSG, by contrast, were also unbeaten but did drop points against Real Madrid. Nevertheless, there are worse teams to drop points against then Real. And PSG’s record was also impressive – played 6, won 5 and drawn 1.
It was in the knockout stages though that Bayern really turned up the heat. They beat Chelsea 7-1 on aggregate over two legs, including a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Their biggest win, however, came against Barcelona. From the quarterfinals onwards, the matches were single-round knockout affairs in order to quickly complete the season.
Bayern still managed to beat Barcelona 8-2 over 90 minutes. Such a comprehensive thrashing laid bare Barca’s issues but also showed how Bayern under Hansi Flick were the real deal.
They beat Lyon 3-0 in the semis to book their spot in the final.
PSG, by contrast, needed a home win over Borussia Dortmund in the second leg Round of 16 match having lost the first match 2-1. However, they followed that up with a 2-1 win over Atalanta in the quarters and a 3-0 win over RB Leipzig in the semis.
Thus, the final was set.
Given Bayern were scoring for fun and PSG boasted both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar in their line-up, many expected goals aplenty. However, that wasn’t the reality of the match.
What is true, however, was that PSG were the more dominant side in the first half. They largely succeeded at keeping Bayern at bay but their attacking play often disappointed.
This was down largely to them being unable to create and take chances. Given how tight the match was, one got the feeling whoever scored first would hold a massive advantage.
This turned out to be true but only in the second half. Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich played a well-weighted cross into the box. Kingsley Coman, formerly of PSG, was on hand to head home what proved to be the winner.
The goal did spur PSG into action. They took more risks and did create more afterwards but their forwards – particularly Mbappe – lacked a clinical touch.
In the end, the game was evenly matched for the most part and decided on a moment of quality.
Bayern Munich became the first side to win the Champions League without losing or drawing a single game. They also went on to win the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup later that year.
PSG, on the other hand, would sack coach Thomas Tuchel in December after poor results. To make matters worse, the club had also let skipper Thiago Silva join Chelsea on a free transfer.
In a beautiful twist of irony, Tuchel would be appointed Chelsea manager in January and both he and Silva would win the tournament in 2021.
PSG made it to the semis in 2021 but were eliminated by eventual runners-up Manchester City.
