PSG vs Bayern Munich 24/08/20

24 August 2020

It will be a nail-biting action when PSG and Bayern Munich go head-to-head at the Estádio da Luz in the UEFA Champions League final this weekend. Curiously, all eight of their previous continental meetings have come in the Champions League group stage, with Paris running out winners on five of those occasions (L3).

Final debutants coasted to the knock-out stage, finishing top of Group A, five points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, without losing once (W5, D1). PSG’s first and only European defeat this term arrived at Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last-16 tie before the Parisians’ pulled off a second-leg comeback to seal a place in the quarter-finals (1-2 A, 2-0 H). Thomas Tuchel’s side then moved on to dump Atalanta 2-1 in the revamped quarter-finals and dispatch RB Leipzig 3-0 in the semis. Reigning Ligue 1 title-holders boast the competition’s best defensive record, having conceded just five goals in ten Champions League fixtures this season, with only fellow finalists Bayern (42) scoring more goals than Paris (25). Although PSG will appear in the Champions League final for the first time, they’ve successfully negotiated just one of their three previous European final showdowns.

Meanwhile, the ‘Bavarians’ have enjoyed an utterly outstanding European campaign this term, winning all ten of their Champions League clashes. Notably, nine of those successes have seen Bayern score over 2.5 goals, with all but one producing a full-time margin of at least two goals! What’s more, all of their four knock-out-stage wins have seen Hansi Flick’s side win by a full-time margin of over 2.5 goals. In fact, perennial Bundesliga champions have already set the Champions League benchmark after netting an average of 4.2 goals per match! It will be Bayern’s 11th appearance in the Champions League final, where their record is W5, L5, with losses in two of the last three.