Huang Sijun, Special Correspondent for Sports Weekly All-Media
Once again, Bayern Munich scored a goal to avoid defeat in the stoppage time of the second half. However, Kane's powerful shot directly into the upper left corner of the goal only allowed Bayern to avoid being double-killed by Paris Saint-Germain and maintain the Champions League home game this season without losing a single point, but failed to achieve the biggest goal: to reverse the situation and advance to the Champions League final in Budapest.
Kimmich negotiated with referee Pinheiro after the final whistle.
The score in the second round was 1-1, and the total score was 5-6. After the final whistle sounded, Kimmich rushed towards the referee João Pinheiro with a fierce look on his face and kept saying something. As a result, he immediately received a yellow card and left the game. However, the captain of the German team emphatically stated in the mixed interview area after the game: "What I want to discuss is our own performance, not the referee. We made too many mistakes at critical moments. But I don't think this will cause us to deviate from the track. I still firmly believe that this team can win the Champions League, but it is a pity that it will not be this year."
Two handball disputes in two minutes
Bayern certainly has plenty of reasons to complain about the referee, especially in relation to the handball penalty after VAR intervention near the end of the first half of the first round. In both rounds, Bayern suffered losses in terms of handball penalties, which also caused most viewers to understand some inconspicuous but crucial details in the current extremely complicated handball rules that change every year.
In the first round, Ousmane Dembélé made a cross from the right and the ball hit the open left hand of Alphonso Davies. The distance was very close, and the ball was refracted by other parts of Davis' body, but it ultimately constituted a handball foul. The reason is that Davis' arm obviously left his body, thus expanding the defensive area. What about refraction? According to the current interpretation of the rules, the so-called refraction of other parts of the body means a significant change in the flight direction of the ball. However, this is not the case with this ball, so it will not be considered.
Bayern players complained about Joao Neves' handball, but referee Pinheiro remained unmoved.
In the second round, Bayern's identity changed from a victim to a potential beneficiary. However, Portuguese referee Pinheiro chose to turn a blind eye to compatriot Joao Neves's obvious move to touch the ball with his left arm in his own penalty area. Italian video assistant referee DiBello also did not intervene. This made Bayern's entire team emotional and indignant, and the Allianz Arena was booed one after another. However, experts familiar with the rules were quick to point out that the multinational panel of Portuguese, Norwegian and Italian referees did not make the decision correct.
At that moment, Vitinha turned around in the penalty area and then made a clearance with his big foot. As a result, he directly kicked the left arm of Joao Neves, who could not avoid it. This behavior was completely in line with the current handball rules and is stipulated as one of the situations that does not constitute a foul, that is, a player is hit by the ball handled by his teammate.
Regardless of whether there is indeed something inappropriate in this regulation, referee Pinheiro did not whistle the penalty, and VAR DiBello did not intervene. They all acted in strict accordance with the rules and there was nothing inappropriate. Kompany complained about this and said: "I understand the rules. We observed from a distance that the ball did not hit other parts of the body first and then the hands, it hit the hands directly. As for whether the ball came from a teammate, it is not critical at all. This is really ridiculous. That's the rule. It's really regrettable."
Nuno Mendes intentionally extended his right arm to block Laimer's pass, but luckily avoided a second yellow card.
However, it is correct not to call this handball, but this does not mean that the performance of the referee team is faultless. One of the key reasons why Bayern was so excited at the time was that Pinheiro made an outrageous penalty just 2 minutes before the ball appeared. At that time, Laimer unloaded the ball with his abdomen on the right rib of the midfielder, then advanced forward, and then passed the ball to the front right. As a result, Nuno Mendes, who was already carrying a yellow card, deliberately opened his right arm to block the ball. This was an action that 100% deserved a yellow card. Pinheiro whistled for a foul on compatriot Mendes at the first moment. However, just as the Bayern players asked him for a yellow card, Pinheiro suddenly changed the rule and gave a thumbs up to Norway's fourth official Eskos to thank him for reminding him. As a result, everyone at Bayern expressed disbelief. Kompany, assistant coach Maric and sporting director Freund immediately started negotiations with Escos.
At the moment when Laimer stopped the ball, Pinheiro was still in the center circle, so it was impossible to see Laimer's right arm touching the ball. Eskos is standing on the extended center line. From his perspective, he will indeed mistakenly think that Laimer is stopping the ball with his right arm (see the diagram below for the situation). However, the TV broadcast of that scene unfortunately did not show the slow motion when Lemer stopped writing. However, the local German TV station was relatively timely. It immediately provided footage of the ball stop during the halftime break. It clearly showed that Laimer used his abdomen, not his right arm, to stop the ball. This is obviously a 100% misjudgment. But then again, even if Escos didn't say anything at that time, Pinheiro would not necessarily "dare" to show Mendes a second yellow card. Of course, if that happens, that's another matter to discuss.
After the game, the person involved, Laimer, said that during the game, he felt that he stopped the ball with the middle of his body and then passed it out. Afterwards, Mendes obviously handballed the ball. This was most likely an obvious yellow card. What is depressing is that today's penalty was not good for them. He felt that the referee only whistled his action 5 seconds after Mendes' handball. He felt ridiculous during the game, but this has become a fact. This is the penalty. This is not his problem, and he can't change it.
What makes Bayern even more unhappy is obviously that there were handball penalties that were detrimental to itself in two consecutive rounds. Kompany said: "Details determine success or failure in the semi-finals. The penalty in Paris still hurts us because you ended up losing by one goal." After the game, Kompany walked to the court to negotiate with referee Pinheiro, "It's not just the two controversial incidents. When several players fell to the ground unnecessarily, you shouldn't just add 5 minutes of stoppage time. Of course we still want to fight for it, there are still one or two minutes to play. Then suddenly, the game is over." We bear all the responsibility, but this incident involves three parties: Paris Saint-Germain, us, and the referee.
Kane also said, "I think everyone who has watched this game will come to the same conclusion. Why was it whistled for handball last week but not this week? Mendes should obviously have received a second yellow card. I don't know why, but the referee changed his mind. This is football: after two games, if you want to advance, you also need some luck. And it is these subtle links that determine the outcome of the game."
Only Diaz creates a threat
First, there was a counter-judgment due to the intervention of the fourth official, and then there was a handball that was obviously in the penalty area but was not judged. In just 2 minutes, he suffered the impact of two controversial penalties that were unfavorable to him. Not to mention Bayern playing at home, even if it was Paris or any other team, it would inevitably make the mood become excited and even lead to an overreaction.
At this critical point in the game, its impact cannot be said to be insignificant. After Bayern suffered a heavy blow from falling behind at lightning speed in the first 3 minutes, it was not until about 20 minutes later that Bayern truly entered its own rhythm. The defensive players passed one-on-one, but the shots deviated from the target. According to the situation at the time, Dias broke out of the defeat by Zaire Emery, who was forced to play as a right back due to Achraf Hakimi's injury. Olise turned Nuno Mendes, who was extremely embarrassed in the first round, from two yellows to one red, which looked promising. Just after the handball incident ended, Bayern, which had just started to gain momentum, obviously lost its rhythm. Paris soon took advantage of the free kick in the midfield. A player named Joao Neves, who had scored with the help of a corner kick in the first round, achieved a particularly threatening header with a header. Fortunately, Neuer worked hard to save the ball outside the far post.
Olise fell short of his standard in this peak matchup and lacked a threat in shooting.
It was clear that the one most affected was Olise. Since then, the French winger, who has always played very reasonably, has made a series of incredible mistakes, which can even be called blind kicks. For example, in the 35th minute, Neuer confiscated the ball and quickly kicked it forward. Zaire Emery, who hurriedly chased back, got ahead of Dias and volleyed the ball to the center with his right foot. Facing the goal, Olise was able to immediately volley with his left foot and pass it to Dias, who was not offside. However, he inexplicably kicked the ball into the air with his left foot, and finally bounced out of the left sideline. No one knew what he wanted to do at that time. Did he want to hang the door directly?
Just like that, Olise kept "playing blindly" until the end of the game. In the 72nd minute, he returned to the backcourt to get the ball and passed a very casual pass to Kvarackhelia. The Georgia winger immediately exchanged passes with Barkola who came on the bench. Then he passed Kim Min-jae and Olise and passed diagonally to Du Oh, luckily the latter hit the side net with a shot from the left side of the penalty area. Olise lost the ball as many as 30 times, the most in the game. Yes, Olise was actually the player who lost the ball the most in the first round (23 times), but he also completed the most 8 successful dribbles in the game, which made Mendes dizzy.
Even on this night at the Allianz Arena, Olise failed to make full use of that advantage. Although only 8 minutes had passed since the beginning, he made a sharp breakthrough on the right wing, causing Mendes to be shown a yellow card for a foul. Then there were two left-footed shots after cutting inside to get past Mendes (one shot high , once the direction was too positive and was easily obtained by Safonov), however, Paris changed its defensive strategy, allowing Olise to face the defense of Kvalac Helia and Favian Ruiz more often. The result was that only 3 of 9 attempts were successful, and only 7 of 19 ground confrontations were won.
Near the end of the first half, Musiala's low shot from the penalty area was not at a tricky enough angle, so he ultimately failed to equalize the score.
Olise, obviously, is not without merit. Before half-time, he moved his heel back in the middle with a clever gesture, helping Musiala to form a breakthrough. Unfortunately, after that, Musiala shot a low shot with his left foot from the penalty area line. However, the angle was not very tricky and was successfully saved by Safonov. However, compared to the opponent's Kvalac Helija and Douai, as well as his teammate Diaz on the left, Olise's performance in this peak matchup dominated by wingers clearly showed that his performance was not up to standard.
Olise performed abnormally. Although Musiala's performance improved, he still could not have an impact on the game. Kane was well taken care of by Pacho and Marquinhos. Even Kimmich and Pavlovich, who performed efficiently in the first round, were not in their best form. So only Dias struggled to hold on on the left wing. Without a reliable backup force (Gnabry's serious injury was too serious), the game showed a situation where there was no way to start. German Sky Sports reporter Carey Howe pointed out that Bayern's performance "lacked organization, precision and penetration.". It was just the tireless Dias who, from the first minute of the game until the last minute, was always in a state of constant offensive threat. As for Musiala, Olise and Kane, except for the equalizer goal in the later period, many moments of performance were all in a state of weakness. Well, they were always in a state of being closely monitored by the backfield players of the team called Paris Saint-Germain. The state of wow!
In terms of statistics, Bayern dominated from the beginning to the end of the game, with a ball possession rate of 62% and as many as 18 shots, 6 of which were on target. However, Paris also completed 15 shots and had more shots on target, 7 times. Especially in the second half, almost every counterattack in Paris was efficiently converted into a high-quality shot. Kvaratschlija and Douai repeatedly showed wonderful performances of one versus two or even three versus three. If Neuer had not once again shown himself as a "Historical" athlete, Bayern would have been defeated early and would have been unable to get the consoling goal until the result was a draw.
The shooting quality is poor and the lineup thickness is even worse.
So far this season, it is only the second time that Bayern has encountered such a powerless scene. The last time was in the league stage, losing 1-3 away to Arsenal, although the impact of Dias's suspension is not small. Therefore, it seems reasonable that Arsenal and Paris will meet in the Champions League final instead of Bayern. Of course, Bayern met Paris 3 times this season, with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, and both sides scored the same goals. Last season, Bayern won the Champions League stage with a score of 1-0, and lost the Club World Cup quarter-finals with a score of 0-2. This shows that the two teams are equally powerful and there is not much difference between their uncles.
Kompany said, "The situation in both rounds was very close. We must respect the fact that we are facing a great opponent, a very good opponent. Paris Saint-Germain is perhaps the best team in Europe in the past two years. We have played against Paris 5 times, and we won 2 times and lost 2 times. Two times, there was a tie, which is what happened today. Congratulations to Paris Saint-Germain. We will fight hard again. "However, it is also important to note that the two victories achieved by Bayern were in the first half of the season, when Paris was not in its best condition. Especially this season, Paris has clearly shown a trend of initially suppressing and then rising, fully demonstrating that everything is under control in terms of adjusting the state.
Compared to the experienced Enrique, Kompany is still a little immature.
When it comes to on-the-spot performance, among the two rounds of the semi-finals, Paris was indeed slightly better. In particular, Luis Enrique gave two completely different but effective game plans in these two rounds, and he also seemed more relaxed in making on-the-spot adjustments. Kompany said: "We are on par with Paris Saint-Germain. Details can determine success or failure. We played very well in the first half and felt that we were the better team on the field. We often appeared in areas where we felt we would pose a threat. Musiala had a great opportunity in the first half. Olise and Dias always sought one-on-one breakthroughs." But I have to say that Paris' defense on the wing is unbelievably good. They were extremely proactive. Even if we successfully created a threat, they would still ensure that we couldn't score a shot, which is a tribute to our opponents.
Captain Neuer, who is Bayern's best player, concluded: "We lacked killer qualities on the offensive end today. We originally had opportunities to win the game. We did not create too many 100% excellent scoring opportunities. However, look at Paris Saint-Germain's performance in the first round. The way they scored 5 goals was a killer. Performance. That's exactly what we needed today. People could see that we were very close to the final, but it was a pity that our goal came a little late. The atmosphere in the stadium was good, but we didn't do enough in the penalty area in Paris."
In fact, it is not just such a game. From the two rounds against Real Madrid to the two battles against Paris, Bayern's offensive efficiency has never been ideal, and it has always been unable to efficiently transform numerous offensive opportunities into high-quality shots. Compared with world-class attacking hands such as Vinicius, Mbappe, Ousmane Dembélé and Kvaratzhelia, Kane, Olise and Dias, who have scored 102 goals together so far this season, seem to always lack a little bit of courage, aloofness, a little too much concentration, or accuracy.
Kane equalized 1-1 in the 4th minute of stoppage time, but it was too late.
From a macro level, Bayern is not as good as Paris, and that is the clichéd lineup thickness. Compared with last season, after the international competition week in March, half of the main lineup was lost. During the most critical two months of this season, Bayern is already close to a "full team" state. This can be regarded as a unique good luck situation in the past ten years. However, Musiala and Alphonso Davies still have not recovered to the level before their serious injuries. In addition, Gnabry, who has shown a second spring this season, was seriously injured and bid farewell to the season after playing for Real Madrid. As a result, Bayern's shortcomings were suddenly exposed.
When Kane was on the team, his substitutes were unable to shoulder heavy responsibilities, and Dias did not even have a substitute at all. In this crucial second leg of the semifinals, the full-backs had obvious shortcomings. Goretzka and Rafael Guerrero were about to leave the team when their contracts expired, and Laimer had difficulties in renewing his contract. This shows that Bayern must effectively strengthen the above-mentioned positions in the summer. In addition to the promising Newcastle left winger Anthony Gordon, Bayern also needs at least a center who can relieve the pressure on Kane in the Champions League, a right back with speed advantage, and a central midfielder with great development potential.
You can also draw a happy ending
It has to be said that in view of the miserable and embarrassing situation during the transfer last summer and being ridiculed by everyone, Kompany led such a team. In the crucial and fiercely competitive "high-end round", only 13 people were qualified to play. All major competitors were completely defeated, and the historical goal record was significantly refreshed. The German Cup also reached the final after a long wait of five seasons. In addition, the team played football that was as beautiful and rhythmic as art, showing a positive and united spirit like a tight whole. This is indeed a result that far exceeded the original expectations. Although it was ruthlessly blocked from the gate of the Champions League final, this will definitely make people feel regretful, but this situation will make the prospects for the next season even more exciting.
Kimmich's speech must have expressed the inner thoughts of all the team members and most of the fans. He once said that in the 11 years he has played for this football club, the current season is the best season – even better than the season when he won the Triple Crown (specifically, the 2019/20 season). Looking back at that season, the team's performance was not ideal in the first half of the game, and it was not until the second half that the team successfully turned the situation around. However, from the perspective of measuring the stability of performance throughout the season, I have never experienced any season like this before. Therefore, the result of being eliminated today makes everyone feel even more regretful. Every member of the team's dressing room firmly believes that this strong team has the potential to win the Champions League. We firmly believe that the team's coach and coaching staff have excellent coaching abilities, and we are also confident in ourselves. The team is always in a good situation of continuous improvement. Last season, we already had a good performance. When facing Inter Milan, we were not the side that performed poorly. This season, we have made further progress and are evenly matched with an extremely strong Paris Saint-Germain team. Next season, we will launch a challenging impact again.
Even if the disappointment is huge, people like Kane and Neuer still have to work hard to play well in the next two rounds of the league, especially the German Cup final.
Of course, Bayern's season has not ended here. The German Cup final against Stuttgart in Berlin on the evening of May 23 can still bring this one of the most outstanding seasons in the team's history to a perfect end. Kane said, tonight and tomorrow, football matches are always like this, one after another, and we still have one on Saturday. As professional players, we are playing for Bayern Munich in this game. We must be prepared and strive to give another exciting to extraordinary super game. Of course, all our energy is concentrated on the German Cup final. Losing will definitely be extremely painful. I am sure we will discuss it for a while. But as always: look forward and focus on the next task. "