IniAkpanMorgan:
Opinion with Okafor Princewill Ugo

Tomorrow, Sunday 22 August 2020 is the UEFA Championship 2020 Final Match between PSG and Bayern Munich. 2hat are the chances of victory for each of the teams?

PSG may have nothing to lose in the forthcoming Uefa champions league final not because they are minions by any stretch of the imagination, but given the way Bayern Munich has conquered all comers, PSG may as well play with their head held high.

However, what the Parisians cannot do is fail to give a good fight and stay in the game. On account of their superstar players and huge budget, surely that should be a minimum expectations and PSG cannot afford to “do a Barcelona” (pun intended).

Also bearing in mind the time tested maxim that “everything is possible” I hold a very unpopular believe that all things being equal (when have all things ever been equal?) PSG may be just the team with adequate setup to stifle a rampant Bayern Munich attack and perhaps become successful at the counter attacking that both Barca and Lyon failed woefully at.

I don’t predicate my belief on the abilities of PSG’s poster boy Neymar, time and again in his career at PSG, he has proved unreliable at very strategic footballing moments; even though with his recent performances, one may say he is finally coming of age.

This Bayern Munich team is no ordinary one, they have metamorphosed into a winning machine, a wholesome and well oiled machine at that with each player complementing the other and defeating them will also be a product of a very well coordinated team work, the likes of which players like Neymar with a well publicized ego and an apathy for the defensive side of the game may find hard to fit.

However, I see in the PSG team a defensive solidity that may finally be resilient enough to cage the free scoring German machines. They have conceded the least goals since the restart of the champions league (1) , played with gusto and more importantly, have so much pace forward – which makes for a good counter attacking football.

HOW PSG CAN BEAT BAYERN MUNICH

How do you stop a team like Bayern Munich on the grandest stage of all?
Three things PSG must get right to stand a chance:

1. DEFENDING

For PSG, This is not an “attacking is the best form of defense” moment. In all of Bayern’s recent matches, they have scored an early goal. This is a team that attacks from the whistle and PSG must not concede an early goal if they are to have any chance whatsoever.

We have also seen that opposing teams seem to open up a lot more when Bayern get that first goal and then start spinning their passing carousel. So PSG must defend from the whistle until their midfielders find their feet in the battle. This is gonna be for PSG, “defense is the best form of survival”.

2. POSITIONAL DISCIPLINE:

If there’s anything we have learnt from this Bayern side in the last couple of weeks, it is that when they are attacking, they do just that. Their attackers switch sides and sometimes roles seamlessly like a well drilled orchestra making them somehow difficult to mark.

Also the they operate with wing backs who fly down the flanks looking to stretch defenses and create chances. Therefore PSG players must maintain a compact rigidity( starting from their midfield to the defenders) and void being dragged all over the field by the Bayern attackers.

3. COUNTER ATTACKING

This is where I believe PSG stands more than a good chance to upstage Bayern. Pacey (and boy do they have lots of it) attackers are a delightful essential for a team to play on the counter. Fortunately, very few teams can boast of the abundance of very fast forward players available to PSG.

Coupled with the fact that the Bayern defense likes to play with a high line, pushing high up close to the centre circle and have wing backs who push up very high up the field to stretch their opponents; it will take just one long ball to get behind them.

Think Kylian Mbappe, think Di Maria and Neymar. If PSG are going to get anything out of this game, they must greatly rely on a perfect execution of counter attacking football.

Whatever happens on Sunday night, we are posed to see a great UEFA Champions league Final Match, will history be made for the Parisians, or will the German machines go all the way again? Whichever way, it promises to be a very interesting encounter for the neutrals.

WATCHOVER:
It's a win win for Bayern

Lovelive:



PSG may shock BM and MB would be shocked as usual