Tuesday began the round of 16 as Bayern Munich defeated PSG 1-0 and AC Milan rode an early goal to a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Bayern were the better team out of the gate but were unable to find a breakthrough until Joao Cancelo was withdrawn for Alphonso Davies at the half. Davies' impact was immediate, assisting Kingsley Coman's goal against his former club. Kylian Mbappe made his return from injury and almost drew PSG level but after a VAR review, his equalizing goal late was ruled out. It was a promising performance for PSG as they'll be healthier in the second leg while Bayern Munich will be without Benjamin Pavard who was sent off with a second yellow card for a foul on Messi.
For AC Milan, they kept their recent string of 1-0 victories going, riding a seventh-minute goal from Brahim Diaz to victory despite Tottenham creating some chances during the match. Eric Dier will miss the second leg of this tie due to yellow card accumulation.
Tuesday's results
- Paris Saint-Germain 0, Bayern Munich 1
- AC Milan 1, Tottenham Hotspur 0
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Tottenham continues to walk a tightrope
This was a match that summed up Tottenham's season quite well. Quite a lot of good during the match but the team can't recover from one defensive breakdown within the first 15 minutes. Diaz's headed goal was preventable but when Cristian Romero is being beaten in the air by a left-back in Theo Hernandez, no one can be there to back him up and prevent that. Fraser Forester did his best to parry Hernandez's effort at goal but it went right into the path of Diaz and that was it for the match.
When Spurs have been a team allowing multiple goals in the first half, this was actually an improvement thanks to Emerson Royal's inclusion but given the early goal, Milan's defense was ready. Hernandez is usually lauded for his attacking contributions but defensively he and Malick Thiaw kept Dejan Kulusevski in check, stopping Spurs' attack. Milan's defense has struggled lately but this is another match showing that Stefano Pioli is making the proper adjustments to fix that.
Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son, and Kulusevski were held to two shots with none testing Ciprian Tatarusanu in the net. While it's simple that if your top three attackers can't shoot you can't score, stopping those three is easier said than done. Spurs lacked creativity from midfield with Oliver Skipp and Pape Sarr starting the match but the duo isn't where things fell apart as this is another contest that leads to questions of if Conte's standard approach to a match can be stale at times.
It would've been a good time to start Arnut Danjuma and drop Kane into a creative position as a 10 behind the two attackers making things easier on the midfield. While Son has eight goals and three assists this season in all competitions, they've all come in six of the 30 matches that he has featured in. For someone who has been one of Spurs' most consistent attackers over the years, that's not good enough and it isn't as if what Son offers from set play delivery isn't replaceable with Ivan Perisic able to take over those as well.
To turn things around, Conte can learn something from his counterpart in Pioli that sometimes tough decisions must be made to jolt his team into improving. If benching Son is what it takes to get the attack going, the time is now before the season slips away and not only does Conte walk but Kane also declines to sign a contract as well.
Was it too soon to crown Bayern as being back?
Coming into the match, with PSG's recent performances compared to Bayern's, a comprehensive victory was expected for the Germans. And while Julian Naglesmann's side did win, a lot of the issues from pre-Cancelo Bayern lingered. Saved by two goals being ruled offside for PSG, Bayern didn't have an answer for Mbappe and Nuno Mendes in the second half and Cancelo didn't do enough in the first half to take advantage of PSG's defensive frailty.
It was a match that shows that it's different rolling over Mainz, Wolfsburg, and Bochum compared to facing PSG, who are a completely different team with and without Mbappe. Bayern have to be able to take their chances with confidence and turn xG advantages to actual advantages on the scoresheet. While they did that on Tuesday winning the xG battle 1.22 to 0.98, it doesn't feel like they did enough when PSG can take the confidence from the second half right into the second leg in Germany with a healthy Mbappe.
Defense is also an area where Bayern don't have depth and they'll be without Pavard for the second leg. Missing a starting defender and only having a one-goal advantage, this is a victory that feels like a draw at best. Naglesmann has to figure out a balance between defending and attacking because it's safe to expect PSG to come out swinging in the second leg.
Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry have been large parts of Bayern's success this season but neither stood out in the match when they were needed most. Jamal Musiala can only do so much on his own and this Champions League tie is a defining one for Naglesmann who has been on and off the hot seat during the season. There's a very real possibility that Bayen both fall out of Champions League and fail to win the Bundesliga this season with Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund both within three points of them. In the eyes of a club where winning the league is expected, that would be catastrophic.
PSG were in the midst of their own crisis prior to this tie but as long as they have a healthy Mbappe, anything is possible.
