Bayern Munich vs PSG LIVE score: Champions League result and reaction as Messi and Mbappe crash out
Bayern Munich 2-0 PSG (3-0 agg): Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe exit the Champions League at the last-16 stage once again
Bayern Munich forward Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting scored against his former club and Serge Gnabry added a late second as the Germans beat PSG 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
The 33-year-old Choupo-Moting, who played for PSG from 2018-20, tapped in from a Leon Goretzka assist in the 61st minute.
Substitute Gnabry struck on the break in the 89th minute to seal the hosts’ 3-0 aggregate win following their 1-0 victory in the first leg in Paris.
The result established Bayern as one of the title favourites going into the last eight and left PSG’s star-studded squad including world champion Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe without a shot at Europe’s premier club trophy for another year.
Relive all the action from the Champions League last-16 as Bayern Munich end PSG’s Champions League dreams:
Muller explains Bayern motto
During his media duties ahead of this evening’s game Thomas Muller was asked what Bayern Munich’s motto ‘Mia San Mia’ actually means.
“It has a very broad understanding.” he replied, “It’s the self-confidence of the Bavarian; that he is strong, that he can win and that he should win, but that he knows he has to work for it.
“And that when you have won, you can also enjoy it. A good image I have is of a broad, hairy chested Bavarian, covered in sweat, lifting a trophy.”
PSG’s rocky form
This season started emphatically for the French champions with Christophe Galtier’s side going 21 games unbeaten before the World Cup.
But, after the World Cup has been a different story. PSG have now lost more games in 2023 (five) than in the entirety of 2022 (four) though three wins on the bounce has steadied the ship ahead of this crucial European fixture.
It seems a foregone conclusion that PSG will win Ligue 1 again so their hopes for a more successful season rest upon triumphing over Bayern Munich tonight.
Who will triumph tonight?
When the teams last met in the Champions League during the empty stadium era of April 2021, both sides won their away games and could only be separated by the away goals rule after a 3-3 aggregate draw.
Bayern continued that trend with a win in Paris and won’t take matters lightly tonight. With Kylian Mbappe in exceptional gaolscoring form the Germans will know their one goal-advantage can be wiped out instantly.
The Bundesliga champions will be more cautious knowing that a goal in their favour could well be enough to ge them through.
Dortmund’s defeat at Chelsea was not unlucky – it was an act of self-sabotage
The Dortmund manager, Edin Terzic, didn’t want to talk about it. His midfield talisman, Jude Bellingham, said it was a “joke”. Even ex-Chelsea pundit Joe Cole, not so much wearing a cap as balancing a giant Tunnock’s teacake on his head, appeared from beneath its rim to say he didn’t like Champions League games being decided that way. But what no one seemed willing to say was that Borussia Dortmund had lost the game by an act of needless self-sabotage.
To recap, at 1-1 on aggregate in their Champions League last-16 second leg, inside a raucous Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were awarded a penalty to take the lead. The handball decision was debatable but what followed was not. Kai Havertz stepped and stuttered and let goalkeeper Alexander Meyer dive before aiming the other way, but his penalty hit the post and rebounded to Dortmund midfielder Salih Ozcan who gleefully cleared it away.
Yet VAR spotted Ozcan had stepped inside the penalty-box arc before it had been taken, and so Havertz was given another attempt, and this time he scored. Dortmund were desolate, Chelsea buoyed, and they went on to take their place in the quarter-finals.
Dortmund’s defeat at Chelsea was not unlucky – it was an act of self-sabotage
In the era of VAR, encroachment is now futile and Dortmund’s players have only themselves to blame for gifting Kai Havertz a second chance to score from the penalty spot
Bayern Munich vs PSG
After playing out a close affair at the Parc des Princes and coming off second best PSG with likely be more proactive and aggressive in Germany tonight.
Bayern Munich should be able to match whatever is thrown their way and know that a draw will see them advance.
They’ll narrowly progress after an entertaining draw at home.
Bayern Munich 2-2 PSG (3-2 on aggregate)
Bayern vs PSH predicted line-ups
Bayern Munich XI: Sommer; Stanišić, Upamecano, De Ligt; Coman, Kimmich, Goretzka, Davies; Müller, Musiala; Choupo-Moting
PSG XI: Donnarumma; Ramos, Marquinhos, Danilo; Nuno Mendes, Ruiz, Vitinha, Verratti, Hakimi; Messi, Mbappe
What is the early team news?
Bayern Munich will be without Benjamin Pavard, who is suspended, with Josip Stanisic in line to deputise on the right of Julian Nagelsmann’s defensive three.
Noussair Mazraoui recently took a break from football due to a heart issue and may not yet be ready to return, while Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernandez are long-term absentees.
News of Neymar’s injury comes as a blow to Paris Saint-Germain, with the Brazilian forward out for the rest of the season. In his absence, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe may be employed as a front two and supported by a strengthened midfield.
Achraf Hakimi has been named in Christophe Galtier’s travelling squad despite being under investigation by French police for an alleged rape.
How to watch Bayern Munich vs PSG
Bayern Munich vs PSG is due to kick off at 8pm GMT on Wednesday 8 March at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on BT Sport 2, with coverage on the channel from 7.15pm GMT. Subscribers can stream the action via the BT Sport app or online player.
Bayern Munich vs PSG
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Champions League action between two heavyweights of Europe.
Bundesliga winners, Bayern Munich, host the French champions Paris Saint-Germain with the winner guaranteed a spot in the quarter-finals of Europe’s top competition.
Chelsea and Benfica are already through after their victories over Borussia Dortmund and Club Brugge yesterday but who will be joining them in the last eight?
Bayern bring a slender lead into tonight’s second leg after Kingsley Coman struck in Paris to give the German team a 1-0 victory and a draw this evening would be enough to see them progress.
PSG, and Kylian Mbappe in particular, are in fantastic form though and will bring a different mindset to the match. In Paris they sat off Bayern and allowed them the ball but expect Christophe Galtier’s side to be more proactive tonight.
We’ll have all the build-up, team news and match action before the match kicks off at 8pm.
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