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Preview: The Paris Saint-Germain of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe go after a first-ever Champions League title behind closed doors in Lisbon on Sunday, but will have their work cut out against a Bayern Munich side led by the prolific Robert Lewandowski. It is a mouthwatering showdown between two of Europe’s super clubs, with PSG eager to cap their rise in the last decade under Qatari ownership and Bayern hoping to lift the trophy for the sixth time. Such an occasion deserves to be played in front of a full stadium, but the cavernous, 65,000-seat Estadio da Luz will be empty. No fans are allowed in, as has been the case throughout this unprecedented ‘Final Eight’ tournament in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. “It is true that it will be odd to play behind closed doors. We would have liked to have our supporters there but I know they are supporting us where they are. But this is still the Champions League,” said Mbappe on Saturday during a virtual press conference. The competition was suspended for five months before finally resuming earlier in August, with two-legged ties done away with in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. “You still feel all the tension. Everyone wants to win it, especially with this unusual format. Everyone will remember this for a long time because of the tragic events surrounding it,” Mbappe added. While the atmosphere in the ground will be surreal for the few hundred allowed to attend, the match promises to be fascinating, pitting together two teams whose domestic dominance is almost total and who were both comfortable winners in the semi-finals. Go down in history PSG sealed their place in their first Champions League final by beating RB Leipzig 3-0. They are the first French representative to get this far since Monaco in 2004 and can become just the second team from Ligue 1 to win European club football’s biggest prize, after Marseille in 1993. “This is exactly why I came here. I always said that I wanted to go down in my country’s history. (This) is another chance to do that,” said Mbappe. If PSG represent the nouveau riche, Bayern are one of the continent’s traditional giants. This is their 11th final. The last of their five victories came in 2013. Four starters from that 2-1 final win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley — goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba and Thomas Mueller — could play here, although Boateng is a doubt with a hamstring injury. When, in 1974, Bayern won their first European Cup, a young PSG outfit were only just winning promotion to France’s top flight. Leaving aside their storied past, Bayern appear the most formidable team in Europe just now. Their 3-0 semi-final win over Lyon was their 20th consecutive victory. They are unbeaten in 29 matches since December last year under coach Hansi Flick. They have already pocketed a German league and cup double, with the Bundesliga title their eighth in a row. They have won all 10 matches in the Champions League this season, scoring 42 goals, including a 7-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur and the 8-2 quarter-final demolition of Barcelona. Bayern’s ‘small advantage’ Lewandowski has 55 goals this season. But he is more than ably supported. Bayern take the risk of playing with a dangerously high defensive line. Yet it remains to be seen if they can afford to take that risk against PSG’s attack of Neymar, Mbappe and Angel Di Maria. “We’ve always played with a high line and ultimately we’ve got results doing that so we won’t change too much,” Flick insisted. The French champions, under German coach Thomas Tuchel, have themselves lost once since 1 November, last year, and they overturned that 2-1 reverse in Dortmund in the last 16 by winning the return leg. “It is a small advantage for Bayern that they are used as a club to playing these games. I accept that, but it is not a decisive advantage,” said Tuchel. Neymar is in fine form and Mbappe has recovered from an ankle injury, while Tuchel was optimistic playmaker Marco Verratti would start after a calf problem. However, there remains a doubt over goalkeeper Keylor Navas, three times a Champions League winner with Real Madrid, after he missed the semi-final. With inputs from AFP.
Champions League 2020 final, Bayern vs PSG, Highlights: Bayern crowned European Champions via solitary Kingsley Coman goal
It is a mouthwatering showdown between two of Europe’s super clubs, with PSG eager to cap their rise in the last decade under Qatari ownership and Bayern hoping to lift the trophy for the sixth time.
 "Champions League 2020 final, Bayern vs PSG, Highlights: Bayern crowned European Champions via solitary Kingsley Coman goal")
That’s it for tonight folks!
This season of football has finally come to an end, several months after it was supposed to. We’ve been through a lot in these past few months, and there’s many a mile left to walk yet, but football has a way of lifting spirits in the most trying of times. Make sure you join us again in September, when football will make its return. We’ll be right here, getting you the latest updates on your favourite teams. Until then, stay safe and goodnight.
Hope they’ve got the kegs topped up at the Estadio da Luz
FT | PSG 0 – 1 BAY
And it’s all over! Bayern have lifted their sixth European Cup to tie Liverpool in third place overall. Despite the lack of goals, it was an entertaining match, with chances galore. Paris Saint-Germain were just not their usual selves today, and their attacking intent was kept well under control by Bayern.
83’ | PSG 0 – 1 BAY
Time’s really running out for Paris Saint-Germain here, they need to throw the kitchen sink at Bayern. Bayern look fairly comfortable, the attacking prowess of Mbappe, Neymar and Di Maria doesn’t look like it’ll be enough. Maybe it’s time for Stoke’s finest to shine, can the one and only Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting come up with something special?
74’ | PSG 0 – 1 BAY
Credit to Paris Saint-Germain, they’ve responded well to going behind. They’re really going for it, with Angel Di Maria in particular causing one or two problems for the Bayern defence, while Mbappe also had a penalty unjustly denied. It doesn’t at all look like an equaliser is out of reach for them.
70’ | PSG 0 – 1 BAY
What a save from Manuel Neuer! Marquinhos, of all people, is played through on goal by an exquisite reverse pass from Angel Di Maria, and his shot if turned away by the outstretched leg of Neuer. The German keeper has been absolutely immense between the sticks for the Bavarians tonight!
Kingsley Coman’s not going back home for a while, eh?
"It had to be the kid from Paris, didn't it?!"
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) August 23, 2020
Oui monsieur 🇫🇷❤️ #UCLfinal #PSGFCB 0-1 pic.twitter.com/DRojOOO9qT
58’ | PSG 0 – 1 BAY
Kingsley Coman puts Bayern ahead! The goal is made by the ingenuity of Joshua Kimmich, who scoops a gorgeous ball to the far post, where the French winger is waiting to head in. Hansi Flick’s men have the advantage, and on the basis of the last 60 minutes or so, you’d be hard-pressed to say they haven’t earned it!
50’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
This game’s been simmering for a while now, and the pressure releases itself in the form of a bust up, as PSG players react angrily to a foul from Serge Gnabry on Neymar. The replay shows it’s a cynical tackle, and Neymar, as he is known to do, makes the very most out of it. Gnabry gets a yellow, and so does Paredes, for his involvement in the shoving and pushing after the foul.
47’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
The second half has begun in much the same way as the first, with serious intensity. It’s not as pure and attacking a final as you’d have expected, there’s more than a few underhanded fouls going around.
HT | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
Mbappe almost scores at one end and then Keylor Navas just about cuts out a cross from Serge Gnabry on the other end! Both teams are going full tilt at each other in the hunt for a goal before half-time, but neither manages to find the net. This has been a tense, pressure cooker of a half, and it’s made for great watching!
35’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
There’s been a bit of a lull in intensity over the past few minutes, but there’s no hint of complacency from either side. If anything, it feels very much like the calm before the storm, like an eruption of pace from a speedy winger or a rocket of a shot from an optimistic midfielder is always imminent. It’s like fencing with a machete, really, a gorgeous, undulating series of thrusts and ripostes, with the very real possibility of getting hurt.
28’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
Everyone assumed Kylian Mbappe would cause Alphonso Davies some trouble, but really, it’s Thilo Kehrer who’s been getting the better of the Canadian teenager. The PSG full back bombs down the right flank and forces Davies to foul him right by the corner flag. The resultant free kick finds its way to Ander Herrera on the edge of the Bayern box, and his thunderous shot knocks the wind out of Goretzka before deflecting behind.
24’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
Ah well, this is unfortunate for Jerome Boateng. He has to come off, after seemingly aggravating the injury he picked up earlier on in the campaign. He’s replaced by Niklas Sule, who isn’t a bad player either. Honestly, the squad depth on display is just an embarrassment of riches, both sides have absolutely stacked benches.
22’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
How did Angel Di Maria miss that? The Argentine international is played in by a sumptuous little ball from Ander Herrera, but with just Manuel Neuer in front of him, Di Maria blasts it into orbit. You don’t get many chances like that against Bayern.
21’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
Oh lord, how is this still goalless? Robert Lewandowski almost bags yet another crucial goal, after a slightly scuffed shot bounces agonisingly past Keylor Navas and comes off the left upright! An inch the other side and that would have gone in!
18’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
Oooh! Neymar almost got his name on the scoresheet there! The Brazilian bears down on Bayern’s goal, but his shot is saved excellently by a flailing Manuel Neuer. Neymar tries to square the rebound back to Angel Di Maria, but the German goalkeeper is on hand yet again to cut it out. That came out of nothing but it could have been a huge moment!
13’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
And after 13 minutes, we’ve had our first glimpse at Bayern’s key weakness, that high line. Kylian Mbappe is put through on the left flank, and he races on to the ball, squirming this way and that before whacking a shot straight into a Bayern defender. This is real high-stakes action folks, it’s got my blood pressure up and I don’t even have any skin in this game.
8’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
Bayern have been teasing a chance here and there, but nothing concrete as yet. Paris Saint-Germain have lost the ball on multiple occasions in their final third already, and surely their luck won’t last forever. Also, I digress but Keylor Navas is really, really not pulling off that platinum blonde hairstyle. He looks like if Andy Garcia and Ninja off of Fortnite had a baby.
3’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
We’re only a couple of minutes in, but already PSG have problems. Bayern are hunting down the ball in sync, and their press is making it difficult for the French club to play it out from the back. Barcelona also had the same problem, but they persisted with their tactics until the match was well and truly out of their reach. Something tells me PSG won’t be as stupid.
1’ | PSG 0 – 0 BAY
And we’re off! Both teams boast an abundance of attacking talent, and this match promises goals like few others, and right from the off, the match is being played with incredible intensity, as all 22 players look to chase after the ball like Energizer bunnies.
Just 15 minutes to go!
via GIPHYPlenty of goals on offer as Bayern Munich take on Paris Saint-Germain
Like the Europa League final, the Champions League final also sees a team seeking their first silverware in the competition against a team going for its sixth. It is also the first time since 1998 that the domestic league champions that entered the competition, have progressed to the final. This is a classic, traditional European Cup.
Click here to read more of Tanuj Lakhina’s preview of the final!
And here’s PSG’s starting XI!
The starting 1️⃣1️⃣ for the @ChampionsLeague final! 🏆⚽️#PSGFCB
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 23, 2020
🔴🔵#WeAreParis#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/8vDHtsyTsL
Here’s how Bayern line up!
🔴⚪ Our final XI 🔴⚪ #PACKMAS, BAYERN 🔊 #MissionLis6on #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/PHX1o3dm8x
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) August 23, 2020
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the Champions League final!
On tonight’s itinerary is the battle of the supposed ‘farmers’, with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain facing off against each other in scenic Lisbon. Stay tuned as we bring you all the live updates from this enticing match-up!
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