The incredible, exciting and impressive Champions League knockout tournament in August peaks on Sunday, when Paris Saint-Germain faces Bayern in Munich for the right to ‘Ol Big Ears, the historic and iconic silver trophy.
It’s a final, one that pits two opposing opposing opposing opposing attacking groups, and probably the most productive we could have asked for given who qualified for the semi-finals.
The red corner has the number 9 on the aggregate Robert Lewandowski, a returning Thomas Muller, the fastest left-back of the global and a midfield so comfortable that it looks like his ice skating.
In response, the blue corner gives Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, two of the five most sensitive players in the world, against a smart-build midfielder and a goalkeeper who has already won the Champions League three times.
Here, in comparison, aspect to appearance, we hope that from XI we will see who has the merit (on paper) for the final, and in the procedure we show a preview of what can be expected of the player, shaping the coming tactical warfare.
One in 10 ratings is awarded to each, depending on their quality and overall shape prior to the main event.
Porters
Keylor Navas, PSG
PSG expects Navas to be compatible with the latter, as he missed the final stages of the quarter-final and saw the full semi-final from the band line.
If it succeeds, it will be very positive for Les Parisiens; Navas has won the Champions League three times and is one of the fittings between the clubs. His feline reflexes and error-free play formed a forged base for the PSG this quarter.
Rating: 8/10
Manuel Neuer, Bayern
Neuer’s 2019–20 season has been excellent, and the 34-year-old returned to the most sensible part of his game after a break of concern between 2018 and 2019: injuries can be seen as the explanation for the fall.
The taste of a German sweeper-goalkeeper is more important than ever to Bayern’s ambitious and superior defensive line. He faced Lyon several times, defending himself from Memphis Depay one on one and saving Karl Toko Ekambi.
Rating: 9/10
BACK
Thilo Kehrer, PSG
The right-back is not Kehrer’s most productive position, however, he saw the PSG season there as a component because he became, a component because his herbal choice for that role, Thomas Meunier, left the club on 1 July by Borussia Dortmund.
In terms of emergency replacements, Kehrer pretty well. He came back from blocking, the air shattered, already incredibly fast, so the physical facets have become simple for him. He did not play an adventurous or entrepreneurial role, but he did not have to; your task is to give it to the boys who preceded you.
Rating: 6/10
Joshua Kimmich, Bayern
Kimmich is possibly the right-back of the world, which is a bit crazy, because it can be argued that the right-back is not even his position.
He moved to the midfield this season, but has been reinstated by the band in Lisbon due to an injury to Benjamin Pavard. It was, unsurprisingly, excellent, to show off his immense diversity of passes and ability to play, even from the right side.
Rating: 10/10
BACK CENTER
Thiago Silva, PSG
A longtime leader and veteran of the PSG project, Silva will leave the PSG after the Champions League final, either after completing a project established in 2012 when he arrived, or to get close.
At 35, he remains one of the game’s most productive central defenders, and taking advantage of his delight and recommendation will be for young players on both sides of it.
Rating: 7/10
Jerome Boateng, Bayern
No one has noticed it coming.
Just over a year ago, Boateng’s career at Bayern (and at the highest point overall) seemed almost over; injuries had interrupted his pace and age (30 at the time) was beginning to play against him.
Its renaissance under Hansi Flick is the ultimate impressive of all, even more than that of Neuer, Muller and Leon Goretzka. While extra punches and punches attenuate his appearance, Boateng is a must-have for Bayern’s defensive setup.
On Wednesday night, that’s precisely what it proved, as it produced some big, high-tackled blockages to prevent Lyon from taking harmful shots.
Rating: 8/10
Presnel Kimpembe, PSG
Kimpembe is beginning to emerge as one of the most productive left-backs in world football, and his reliable performances in Lisbon increasingly help her realize that she is close to a full set of skills.
It has all the physical attributes you can ask for, plus true comfort with the ball and an ability to move the ball through channels towards more damaging players. No player from Atalanta or RB Leipzig could take the lead.
Rating: 8/10
David Alaba, Bayern
In a play that surprised the most, Alaba had a leading role in Bayern’s baseline with Flick, moving from left-back to center and picking up the line.
It was much better, apart from a purpose contrary to its strange and unfortunate appearance opposite Barcelona, reaping benefits of recovery speed to deal with faster threats and an unexpected aerial presence to face the larger ones.
Add that to your importance in preparing Die Roten at the back and balancing act you play when Alphonso Davies bursts, and you’re a genuine defensive pillar for arguably the most productive team in the world.
Rating: 9/10
GAUCHE BACK
Juan Bernat, PSG
It is a business card as a left-back, but Bernat’s record for scoring vital goals in major matches continued until the semi-finals when his header ended with RB Leipzig’s comeback hopes.
His defensive skills don’t quite fit those of the attack, however, what it gives him is incredible power and endurance on the flank and he looked smart in Lisbon.
Rating: 7/10
Alphonso Davies, Bayern
For a long time, the discussion about who is the left-back in the global has focused on two names: Andy Robertson and Jordi Alba.
But the quarter-finals saw Davies take a hammer towards the prestige quo; He was so good that he forced himself to interact in this discussion, and for many at Alba’s expense.
There is no mix of speed, individual defensive ability, dribble, center and shot like Davies’s; no one else can offer it or fit it in.
Rating: 10/10
CENTRAL HALF FIELD
Marquinhos, PSG
Earlier this week we rounded up a major XI of the Champions League semi-finalists and placed Marquinhos in the headquarters, his herbal position, the Brazilian has excelled in a defensive midfield role this season and will anchor the team in the final.
It is comfortable in ownership and satisfied to get the defense, can give physical tone to the midfield and filters very well to the 4 sides.
Having controlled to score in each of the last two games, the maximum vital equalizer against the Atalanta, then the first objective opposite the RB Leipzig, is an additional advantage. With Kehrer on the right side and Marquinhos in midfield, the PSG can put 4 large men in the area for stopped shots despite a reduced line of attack.
Rating: 9/10
Thiago Alcantara, Bayern
We communicate more about Thiago’s long history – Liverpool? Dean Jones of B/R explores this here, as his game right now, so let’s rectify that: he’s a masterful and desirable midfielder who controls the pace and direction of Bayern’s attack game.
Die Roten’s semi-final attack on Lyon was ruthless, from start to finish for 90 minutes. I would have expected Thiago to cool things down a bit and take the game away from the Gones, but they seemed to be looking to score the highest possible score to build confidence.
Ultimately, you’ll see Bayern play smarter and Thiago even further ahead, measuring passes and possession of the ball in a way few people can do.
Rating: 9/10
Leandro Paredes, PSG
Paredes has had to perform several times at PSG when he only joined him in January 2019, however, despite everything, he is increasingly accepted by viewers.
He made a big impact on the bench in the quarter-finals against Atalanta and drove magnificently from the start against RB Leipzig, passing passes through the lines and on the feet of the team’s most damaging players.
A talented pin with the perfect vision, he plans to start the last one on the basis of a clever way and the fact that the PSG wants as many threads on the field as can be imagined to exploit Bayern’s top defensive line.
Rating: 8/10
Leon Goretzka, Bayern Munich
Goretzka nevertheless came to life with the Bayern shirt.
After years of not knowing what to do with it or creating a transparent role for him, Flick has unlocked his frame-to-frame power and incredible athletics in a way that seriously benefits the team.
It is licensed to stand out from the pivot of the Die Roten midfield and hit the surface, providing a shot, a frame to compete in stopped kicks and very smart joining games and videos in harmful areas.
Rating: 8/10
Marco Verratti, PSG
As explained above, this is a predicted XI, and while hitting Verratti would possibly seem like an ambitious call, there is more logic than it seems.
Thomas Tuchel gave him seven minutes (plus the time off) at the bank in the semi-finals on his way back from injury, and PSG put him in position to face the media on Thursday. That’s a sign.
Then there’s also the undeniable truth that if you need to try Verratti to play, it’s best to start and see what you can get from it. If that doesn’t happen well, you have five substitutes to cover it, and you don’t need it to be the other way around: bring it beaten and decompose, which means you have to bring it back.
Verratti is one of PSG’s most productive midfielders, a Thiago-style presence in the way he controls and dictates the speed of a game. If there’s a chance to get even a part of him in the final, Tuchel will have to try.
Rating: 8/10
Thomas Muller
Like Neuer and Boateng, Muller represents an old flame revitalized at Bayern, its degrees of productivity and importance to emerging ones to the point where they equal, or even exceed, their peak in 2013.
If Bayern win the Champions League, there will be a serious verbal exchange as to whether this is Muller’s season.
It has not replaced at all in the seven years since then, that same strange mix of graceful and clumsy, an elite footballer spliced with a giraffe calf who has not yet learned to walk.
Rating: 9/10
RIGHT EXTREME
Angel Di Maria, PSG
You can list all the superlatives in the global talking about Neymar and Mbappé, and we will, a little more, but as they are, Di Maria stood out as an almost similar vital member of the attack. Install on pc.
He won the prize for the boy of the opposite fit to RB Leipzig, scoring two goals and scoring one himself, providing an invaluable rate of paintings along a vanguard that cut off the Gerguys’ defensive setup.
While PSG looks to the last ones, it will no doubt be in Di María, who had a type of adjustment in the last 2014 when Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid. This pedigree can prove crucial.
Rating: 9/10
Serge Gnabry, Bayern
In case you haven’t noticed yet, Wednesday’s game left no room for doubt: Gnabry is surely deadly.
Left or right foot, short or long distance, you can shoot a shot in the corner before you can blink. His nine Champions League purposes this quarter mark him as Bayern’s secondary risk, Lewandowski, and he has controlled that account in just 8 starts!
His reliability in the face of purpose and the ultimate pass turns out to have cemented his position in the strike XI of his compatriot Kingsley Coman, and don’t be surprised if he appears with a massive purpose at the top.
Rating: 9/10
LEFT WINGS
Kylian Mbappé, PSG
PSG with and without Mbappé are two other entities. Without him, Neymar has to do overtime and he lacks runners for from. But with it, the speed and running that Mbappé offers, in addition to his complete prowess, gives the PSG an advantage to start in the last third that few people can handle.
This will not have escaped Mbappé’s attention, as Bayern play with a much higher defensive line and leave an area for exploitation, an area where Mbappé would revel.
It’s probably the main apparent tactical cause that is helping this final, because Bayern won’t replace their technique even against one of the fastest and deadliest strikers of the match. How well can you use this space?
Rating: 10/10
Ivan Perisic, Bayern
Perisic had to work hard to make his way in this XI, existing as a backup option for the season maximum, but discovered the way at the top, hunting right in front of Chelsea, Barcelona and Lyon’s 3.
His war with Kehrer on the flank will be physical and combative, and what’s in perisic’s meaning is that he can use both feet so well that he’s a danger regardless of position or angle.
The very good timing of his careers left in transition and the speed with which he hits balls in the six-metre domain led to the goals scored and created. He’s not Bayern’s biggest threat, but forget about him on your responsibility.
Rating: 8/10
CLUSTERERS
Neymar, PSG
Neymar’s lazy central role against Atalanta in the quarter-finals often led him to ninth place, pushing Mauro Icardi down the right wing (where he presented very little).
With Di Maria and Mbappé back in the starting line-up against RB Leipzig, Thomas Tuchel deepened that joy by hitting Icardi and betting Neymar in the middle. It worked like a clock.
So we designed the latest in the Champions League with the very genuine option that Neymar will play back in the center of the three most sensitive, where it has been incredibly effective so far.
Despite the lack of final touches, it has looked beyond world class, destroying the parties to the conflict in Lisbon until now. Neymar reminded us all that when he makes the decision to win a match, he’ll win it, and there’s not much you can do to avoid it.
Rating: 10/10
Robert Lewandowski, Bayern
Lewandowski’s past header to dominate a 3-0 semi-final victory led him to 15 Champions League goals for the season. He is now a hat-trick in the top of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 17-goal record, and will end the crusade after betting two fewer matches because of the coronavirus.
It represents the final number nine right now, with the most productive I’ve ever seen, combining a predatory ending with a variety of wise videos and passes to help create lenses as well.
His date with Muller and Goretzka’s career and schedule are part of what makes this Bayern attack feel so relentless, so fast and unstoppable at times.
Rating: 10/10
Total PSG score: 90/110
There are some notes on the PSG XI for the final. Will Verratti start or will Ander Herrera continue instead? Will Icardi return to the starting lineup or will Tuchel turn to Idrissa Gueye?
No matter what Tuchel makes the decision to do, it gives the weakest aspect of the two: on paper. You will need to produce the most productive game plan and will depend on greater execution to compensate.
Total Bayern score: 99/110
Bayern are lately the most productive team in the world and the results confirm that. There is no weak link, the intensity is very good and they have other points throughout the field.
They enter the latter as favourites, having won 10 matches in a row from the Champions League, but they still have to play to the maximum to defeat a PSG team driven by world-class attack talent.
Final forecast: PSG 2-3 Bayern Munich
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