LISBONNE, Portugal (AP) – A couple of lesser-known players could prove decisive in Sunday’s Champions League final.
While the maximum will be watching Paris Saint-Germain forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, or bayern rivals Thomas Moller and Robert Lewandowski, the name can pass to Angel Di Maria and Serge Gnabry.
They don’t bring the same enthusiasm as some of their teammates, however, they have been very important to their groups this season. Both had an effect in the semi-finals, with Di Maria leading PSG over Leipzig and Gnabry helping Bayern beat Lyon.
Di Maria scored one goal and two assists in PSG’s 3-0 win over Leipzig on Tuesday, while Gnabry scored twice in his team’s 3-0 win over Lyon on Wednesday. Both have won awards for the fit boy for his performances.
“We are very pleased to have achieved our goal in the final,” Di Maria said. “Now we have to go further.”
The talented and agile Di María already made a difference in a Champions League final, taking Real Madrid to the opposite name to Atletico Madrid six years ago. The 34-year-old Argentine is one of PSG’s most sensitive goalscorers this season and is one of the team’s leaders.
The sturdy and fast Gnabry has less experience, but has been so important to his club this season. The 25-year-old German has nine Champions League goals in nine games, behind only Lewandowski. The 24 combined goals scored through them are a record through a duet in a Champions League season.
“If you look at the way Serge has evolved in recent years, not only at Bayern but also in the national team, you have to say he’s close to the world class,” Bayern coach Hansi Flick said. “It’s a dynamic and damaging scorer, so we’re satisfied with Array… who’s on our team. It’s of wonderful quality, but I’m sure it’s far from a finished product.
Gnabry’s improvement is visual a year ago, when it had no purpose in the Champions League and may not help Bayern avoid elimination through Liverpool in the circular of 16. This season, he scored one goal for every 3 shots he made, and created nearly two consistent opportunities with the game on average, according to statistical analysts Driblab. He has also become one of the leaders of the recovering team, with nearly five at stake.
Di Maria scored 3 goals, but much more effective than Gnabry at creation, with an average of 3 consistent with the game in his 8 PSG games. He also controlled to prepare his teammates, averaging almost a pass consistent with the game. Di María did not play in the quarter-finals against Atalanta by sanction.
What the two players have is not unusual is that they will play by name after a blocked race in England: Di Maria with Manchester United and Gnabry with Arsenal and West Bromwich Albion.
Di Maria, the signing of United’s record when he joined Real Madrid in 2014, but did not live up to the 59.7 million pound (then $99 million) fare. Coach Louis van Gaal was unable to make the most of Di Maria, deploying him to the middle of the field and the left wing when the team finished fourth in the Premier League. Di Maria and her circle of relatives also suffered an attempted break-in before leaving England for Paris in 2015 after less than a year in Manchester.
Gnabry was unable to do so during his time at Arsenal in the early 2010s, making only a few appearances as a starter before being sent on loan to West Brom, where his qualities were questioned by management. His career was rein rein reinshorsed after joining German clubs Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim, which eventually led him to a position with Bayern in 2018.
Both Gnabry and Di Maria have played a role in their national groups: Di Maria is a World Cup veteran three times and reached the 2014 highest in Brazil, while Gnabry helped Germany finish the moment in the 2016 Olympic final. However, he is not part of the World Cup team two years later.
Di Maria may have a little credit for Gnabry at the Stadium of Light. The Argentine played his stint there with Benfica, and it was there that he won the 2014 Champions League final.
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