Weah magic, Coman as executioner, Messi helplessness… The five most notable Bayern-PSG

How we find ourselves… PSG-Bayern or Bayern-PSG, a classic on a European scale. The two clubs have already crossed swords 13 times. They will battle it out again this Tuesday (9 p.m.), at the Allianz Arena, as part of the fifth day of the Champions League. In its European history, there is only one club that the Rouge et Bleu have faced more often, FC Barcelona (15 matches). Contrasted results with six Parisian victories, no draws and seven Munich successes, including three victories for Bayern in the last three confrontations, in 2021 and 2023. A look back at the five most notable matches between the two clubs, including the final of Lisbon, the magical goal of Mister George at the Olympic stadium or the improbable Parisian success under the snow at the Allianz Arena.

1994: moment of grace signed George Weah

1994-95, first campaign in C1 for PSG, era Canal+. Rai, Bernard Lama, David Ginola and company reached the semi-finals, achieving the feat of winning their six group matches. A journey which started with a 2-0 victory over Bayern, with goals from George Weah and Daniel Bravo. The two teams met for the return match, on November 23, 1994, at the Olympic stadium. Already qualified, the Rouge et Bleu were nevertheless keen to take first place. If he started on the bench, Weah would deliver them from a goal that will remain in the memories. After a first touch of the ball on which he escaped from the marking of two players, the Liberian was found in the heart of the game by Patrick Colleter. Support for Pascal Nouma. The rest is pure magic. Using tricks of which he had the secret, Mister George obliterated three Bavarian players before placing an unstoppable missile into Oliver Kahn's left corner from the entrance to the penalty area. Anthology goal. And it was worth three points (0-1).

1997: the debacle

After two campaigns in the Coupe des Coupes, two finals including a victory in 1996, PSG returned to the C1 for the 1997-98 season. And Bayern. A painful memory… A shipwreck, in fact. At half-time, the Bavarians were already leading 2-0, with a goal from Giovane Elber in the 4th minute and another from Carsten Janker, in the 20th. The latter took the break as soon as he returned from the locker room, a minute before the gap was reduced by Marco Simone. Alas, Thomas Helmer quickly hit the nail on the head. And Elber scored a double to complete the Bavarian success (5-1). A collective fiasco… even if we especially remember the blunders of the late Christophe Revault. Recruited a few months earlier, the former Le Havre player had gifted his two goals to Janker, a failed check with his foot on the first and a mysterious restart with his hand on the second. He never really recovered from that crash.

2020: Coman as executioner

Nine years after taking control of QSI, PSG finally reached the “Champions” final. It was in 2020, in the Lisbon health bubble. After dismissing Atalanta (2-1) and Leipzig (3-0) in this unprecedented “Final 8”, Thomas Tuchel's players took on Bayern at the Estadio da Luz. Departed from Thomas Meunier and Edinson Cavani after the end of the season and forced to do without Marco Verratti at kick-off, with Kylian Mbappé gritting his teeth after a major sprain in the Coupe de France final a few weeks earlier, Neymar Jr and his comrades had generally been dominated. They nevertheless had chances. Imperial, Manuel Neuer had erased them. And it was Kingsley Coman, with a header, who scored the only goal of the match in the second half (1-0). Goal that he had not celebrated, out of respect. A former titi to deprive PSG of a first coronation in C1, how could the football Gods be more cruel?

2021: the Munich miracle

Unlikely. Jostled, cornered, suffocated, PSG relied on the talent of its stars to win in an empty Allianz Arena, Covid obliged, on April 7, 2021, in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League. Victory 3-2. Bayern hit 31 times on goal, compared to six shots for Paris, who finished with a defensive quartet of Mitchell Bakker, Presnel Kimpembe, Danilo Pereira and Colin Dagba, after the exits of Abdou Diallo and Marquinhos. Before giving up his place, the latter scored the 2-0 goal for the visitors, under the snow, and thanks to a brilliant inspiration from Neymar. The big men of this meeting, however, were Keylor Navas, impassable in his cage, and Kylian Mbappé, author of a double. Transparent during the Lisbon final, like “Ney”, “KM” caught up… Note that the Bavarians have a time equalized by the former Parisian Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Müller. On the return, the opposite scenario, with a victory in the form of a hold-up for Bayern (0-1). PSG, however, rallied in the semi-finals.

2023: Messi's PSG powerless

Christophe Galtier's admission of helplessness: uncertain until the end, Kylian Mbappé started on the bench in the round of 16 first leg of C1, at the Parc des Princes, February 14, 2023. The plan of the Parisian coach at the time ? Hold the 0-0 until the entry of the Bondy prodigy. It didn't work. Munich scored just before Mbappé appeared on the pitch… However, Galtier had Lionel Messi and Neymar at his disposal. Certainly, his squad lacked depth without the 2018 world champion. From there to offering such mush, such a non-match… Still Coman as executioner (0-1 defeat). On the return, no miracle, especially since Neymar had joined the infirmary in the meantime. 2-0 defeat, not a shadow of hope at the Allianz Arena. Galtier's plan was limited to the Messi/Mbappé relationship. The Munich staff anticipated this perfectly and put the “Pulga” under cover with more than strict marking. It was enough. Paris without idea, not invited, eliminated. Logic.