Paris Saint-Germain – Bayern Munich: Doué and Dembélé Propel Parisians to the Semi-Finals (2-0)
Two of the European heavyweights squared off in the blockbuster quarterfinal fixture of the Club World Cup. The match proved to be extremely competitive, with both teams having opportunities to take the lead in the first half but failing to do so. A heated second period led to two goals and two red cards for the Parisians – sealing an entertaining tie in Atlanta.
Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.
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The clash between French and European champions Paris Saint-Germain and German league winners Bayern Munich was undoubtedly the headline match of the Club World Cup quarterfinals. Both sides were among the favorites to go all the way and lift the trophy, which heightened the anticipation for the supporters.
PSG was coming off a comfortable 4-0 win against Inter Miami in the round of 16. As the scoreline suggests, it was a one-sided encounter from the start. Four goals — with a brace from João Neves, an own goal by Tomás Avilés, and Achraf Hakimi — essentially sealed the tie in the first half. They cruised to victory in the second period, with Luis Enrique using all five of his substitutions to refresh the team and rest some of the key personnel ahead of the quarterfinals. Thus, Enrique named an unchanged team against Bayern.
Vincent Kompany’s team, on the other hand, did not have a straightforward knockout match. Although they were always in a winning game state, Flamengo caused them some trouble and, as a result, revealed a particular weakness. Kompany only made a couple of changes, with Jamal Musiala finally returning and a midfield change with Aleksandar Pavlović preferred to Leon Goretzka.
A chaotic opening period catalyzed by intense man-oriented pressing units
The contest started with high intensity, with both managers opting for a man-oriented press against the other. The energetic and vertical nature of the opening period meant that neither team could gain a proper foothold and control proceedings as they are used to. Thus, in the early minutes, it was a bit chaotic as attacking sequences flung to and fro. Each side was able to create half chances through winning one-versus-one duels, playing one-two combinations to beat the pressers, direct long passes, counters, or from set-pieces.
The first big opportunity of the match fell to PSG. It started with a throw-in from the Parisians’ half, taken by Nuno Mendes. He found Willian Pacho, who launched a long diagonal ball toward Bradley Barcola. When he controlled this pass, there was a three-versus-three against Bayern’s backline – a situation Enrique would hope his team could generate consistently.
This is because of the personnel in Bayern’s defense. Although they have generally showcased a cohesive and effective man-to-man press in the 2024-25 season, on defensive transitions against teams with world-class attacking quality, the Bavarians can look vulnerable. All defenders, barring Dayot Upamecano, are not blessed with pace. Contrast that to PSG’s frontline, and there is a clear mismatch.
Barcola found Désiré Doué, who then played a through ball to the onrushing Hakimi. The Moroccan international attacked the box before delivering a delightful pass to the back post for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who arrived on time but could not find the angle to nick it past Manuel Neuer.
19th minute: PSG initiated a dangerous attacking sequence after finding Barcola on the wings and engaging the Bayern backline in a three-versus-three.
The back-and-forth nature was summed up nicely by those two minutes, as soon after the chance for Kvaratskhelia, Bayern had an opportunity on the other end. After a fast break, Konrad Laimer attempted to find a red target in the opposition box. Kompany clearly had instructed the attackers and midfielders to flood the penalty area, and the onus was on the players on the right wing to play those crosses.
As we have already seen in the tournament, the dynamic between Michael Olise and Laimer can prove to be fruitful. The pair have good chemistry and understanding of each other’s movements. The same cannot be said for the left flank, where the spark and innovation are lacking to create chances consistently. So, the instruction for Kingsley Coman was to act more as a finisher by arriving at the back post and positioning himself on the blind side of Hakimi to catch him off guard.
20th minute: Bayern produced a chance soon after the PSG move a minute earlier.
Missed opportunities but relentless energy
With verticality being the main theme of the attacks, both teams had to constantly shift up and down the field. The biggest chances in the opening minutes of the second half involved direct attacks.
The first of those fell to Barcola after a long ball from Gianluigi Donnarumma that fell to the feet of Kvaratskhelia after Jonathan Tah mistimed his jump to intercept the ball. The pass in behind from the Georgian left Barcola in a one-versus-one against the goalkeeper, but Neuer stopped it.
49th minute: Barcola was presented with a golden chance after Donnarumma’s long ball found Kvaratskhelia, who slipped the Frenchman through on goal.
Bayern’s opportunity was presented to Coman, stemming from a deep turnover by Pavlović in the defensive third. Kimmich, who soon collected the ball, passed it to Harry Kane as he dragged Pacho into midfield – creating a gaping hole in PSG’s backline. Kane managed to deliver the finely weighted pass to Coman, who could not direct the shot with the required power and accuracy past Donnarumma.
It was really impressive how long the high-octane nature of the match continued. There were very brief moments when either team defended passively. They simply wanted to negate the other’s qualities on the ball. PSG have demonstrated how effective their fluid in-possession play can tear apart even the sturdiest defensive units, with the most dominant example being their 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan. In fact, many of the analysts after the match mentioned how difficult it is — and maybe even detrimental — for any team to contain the Parisians through a zonal defensive strategy.
That is likely why Kompany commanded relentless pressure and energy from his players. The only way to cope with the clever and cohesive PSG movements is to track them man-to-man.
On the other hand, although Bayern are not as extravagant as Enrique’s team on the ball, they do have dynamism in their attack that can test even the best of defenses. Additionally, with star quality in their attack — mainly Olise and Kane — they have the capacity to create chances from nothing. Furthermore, Enrique has shown his tactical preference to defend aggressively in all phases, which was also illustrated in the Champions League final.
Doué’s disguised finish, red cards, and Dembélé’s knockout punch
It was no surprise that the scoreline was opened with a goal after a chaotic couple of sequences, with the primary characteristic of it being, yet again, verticality.
The move started from a rare moment of settled possession for PSG in their half, with players maintaining their build-up shape that resembles something close to a 4-3-3. However, there were certain player rotations within that structure, as Vitinha pulled to the left – acting as a nominal left-back – while the substitute Ousmane Dembélé occupied a spot in midfield and Mendes pushed on the wing. Furthermore, PSG was lopsided to the left, which left Bayern quite disoriented as they tried marking them player-for-player.
78th minute: PSG set off an offensive move deep in their half and played through the lines.
A pass from Fabián Ruiz to Vitinha commenced the attack, as the Portuguese midfielder immediately found Mendes on the left, who played a diagonal pass to Doué. The swift move was halted by Laimer as he tackled Kvaratskhelia — triggering a Bayern counter.
However, that fire was shortly extinguished by Neves, who pressed Kane and won the ball back. The PSG no.67 played a quick give-and-go with Hakimi before finding Doué at the edge of the penalty box. Although he kicked the ball with his weaker foot, it misguided Neuer, who was anticipating a far-post shot. Instead, it was directed to the near post with enough power. Neuer could not shift his body weight in time to even attempt a dive and save it.
Doué’s long shot to the near post put PSG 1-0 up.
PSG and Bayern were physically intense throughout the match, but it got reckless at times. As it was, Musiala had been taken out of the game, unfortunately, after a horrific injury. Although there is still a debate on whether it was a careless challenge from Donnarumma, there was no denying that Pacho’s foul on Leon Goretzka deserved a straight red card.
With less than ten minutes remaining on the clock, Enrique promptly made a defensive-minded substitution to protect the lead. He brought on center-back Lucas Beraldo and sacrificed Kvaratskhelia — an understandable change. Just a few minutes earlier, Lucas Hernández was introduced for the goal scorer. Thus, PSG had five defenders on the field to protect the 1-0.
87th minute: PSG’s 5-3-1 defensive shape after going down to ten men.
Bayern piled on the pressure and came really close to equalizing in the final minutes. Kane thought he had netted the leveler, but it was ruled offside as the PSG defensive line had stepped up right on time. They were handed another boost after Hernández committed another reckless challenge that received a straight red from referee Anthony Taylor.
Although momentum kept tilting towards Bayern, it was the men in blue who scored the last goal of the match. With the German side pushing higher up the field, it left their rest defense understandably more exposed. This was, however, exploited by PSG after a midfield turnover that led to a shot from Dembélé, which struck the post. PSG were able to collect the deflected ball and recycle possession before it found Dembélé again, who did not miss this time.
Takeaways
The end-to-end match proved to be an entertaining encounter between two offensive-minded teams. It was a very tight contest as PSG and Bayern tried to match each other. Eventually, as it often does, the efficiency in front of goal proved to be the deciding factor. Although they lost, Kompany would have taken positives from that game — especially how well Bayern were able to meet the physical intensity that PSG brought to the table.
Enrique would be delighted with the result and performance but not so much with the discipline of his players. With a tie against another European heavyweight in Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid, PSG will have to ensure that they can bring their intensity and quality again in what will be a highly anticipated Club World Cup semi-final.
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