Sports Weekly all-media reporter Wang Qinbo
The goal shootout in the second round that the outside world expected did not happen. Although both sides created many scoring opportunities, in the end it was the more accurate side that won. As for Paris's more precise and sharp attack, it originated from the combination of Kvarac Hlia and Dembélé who broke through Bayern Munich's gate 3 minutes after the opening.
In the CBS Sports program, Henry, a well-known former French player, spoke highly of this pairing. He said that if you have two wingers who can disintegrate opponents in different ways, it will undoubtedly be a nightmare for all defenses. On Wednesday night at the Allianz Arena, when the game was still in doubt, we knew it right away: Kvala Tskhelia won the ball, ran straight towards the opponent, and then passed a flawless pass for Ousmane Dembélé to complete the score in the third minute. Boom – the score became 1-0.
Henry felt, "This early goal directly killed the atmosphere of the scene and almost decided the fate of the game in advance. The two people have now established a tacit understanding. In the crazy 5-4 game in the first round, they each scored twice. The Georgian has continued to deliver key statistics recently, and he was in The speed on the wing is amazing. This combination can attract the attention of the opponent's defense and the other can use the space vacated. Once Dembele gets the opportunity, he is as precise as a surgical operation; and Kvalac Helia continues to cause chaos with his dribbling and vision… All of this is pure football performance!"
In fact, compared to the consistency Kvaratschlija has shown this season, Dembele only regained the rhythm and feeling of last season after entering the knockout stage. Perhaps the goal scored against Bayern is also the most ideal compensation for the shortcoming of failing to score in the final on May 31, 2025. Allianz was not only the lucky place where he achieved the Triple Crown and the Ballon d'Or, it has now become another great stadium that he conquered with his goals.
This may be the Dembele that Paris Saint-Germain longs for most. His physical condition prevents Dembele from serving as a model worker for a full season. However, Paris needs him to stand up at critical moments and in major scenes to personally change the direction of the game and show superstars and gold medals. With the level of a Ball Award winner, Dembele has indeed lived up to everyone's expectations, and his performance in these games has always been unstinting. Whether it is running, pressing, or flashes of inspiration during offense, he has good continuity and rhythm, and will not become overwhelmed by the urgency of technical and tactical tasks.
At this moment, Paris Saint-Germain has reached the Champions League final for the third time in team history, surpassing Reims and Marseille, and has become the club in France that has entered the Champions League finals the most times. There is no doubt that they must be grateful to Dembele for the changes he has brought to the team. This is his 19th goal this season. The goal was also the seventh in the Champions League this season. Although Bayern fans put up a banner before the game, claiming that "Munich leads to Budapest, and Paris only deserves a one-way trip to St. Helena (meaning exile)", in the end, it was Paris Saint-Germain who went to Hungary to defend the Champions League title.
"L'Equipe" chief reporter Duluc holds the view that Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Bayern, and the secret is that they have understood how to transform from the model called "total football" to "lethal football."
It was obvious that both sides became more cautious in this game, which was completely different from the style in the first round. The transition between offense and defense is still very fast, but the number of people pressed out by both sides during the attack is smaller, leaving little space for the opponent during the transition. Duluc wrote, "If the first round was suffocating, with continuous goals and an almost crazy rhythm, then the second round was suffocating because of the battle itself – the rough, fierce, respectable way: running for teammates, never leaving anyone alone. And Luis Enrique's decision continued to be proven correct throughout the night."
Duluk felt that the most direct manifestation was the goal in the 3rd minute. Dembélé, who returned to the right wing position, quickly moved forward from the right and completed the extremely lethal attack launched by Kvalac Helia, and Favian Ruiz's kick also played a key role.
He said that Paris' performance in the physical confrontation in the first twenty minutes was amazing. Of course, they were also under great pressure. They seemed to be reenacting the "Battle of the Alamo Fortress". They were suppressed by Bayern many times and had to continue to make long passes to try to clear the ball in order to prevent the ball from being played in the backcourt. When the ball was cut off, the Russian goalkeeper Safonov even set a record for making a clearance to the sideline in this game. People basically did not see Olise's actual performance. Luis Dias was also silent. In the end, the real key figure in this game was actually Warren Zaire Emery. This twenty-year-old young man's adaptability and combat ability in such a high-level competition have reached an unbelievable level.
One of the best players in this game was indeed Zaire Emery mentioned by Duluc. Achraf is absent and Zaire Emery plays the right back position, which is worrying, but it turns out that he is quite mature and can even play with ease and ease in the game. In the first half, there was a scene where Paris received a set piece in the frontcourt, Bayern made a quick break after a clearance, and Zaire Emery, who was left alone in the back line, jumped near the center circle. Seeing that the situation was very critical, he aimed at his opponent and did not stop the ball immediately. Instead, he quickly attacked and controlled the ball, thus averting the danger.
In this game, "L'Equipe" gave Neuer the highest score of the Bayern Munich team with 6 points. Among the others, only Pavlovich, Dias and Kane scored 5 points. Three players from Paris Saint-Germain scored a game-high 8 points, including left forward Kvaratzheliya, center defender Pacho, and Zaire Emery. The lowest score of the Paris team was Vitinha's 5 points. This is a rather strange thing, because Vitinha took on a lot of work as in the first round, and can even be said to have contributed a lot. However, in this system that focuses on transition speed, the best are the forwards and defenders, not the midfield organizer.