Diaz shines as Bayern beat PSG in CL

Agency :

Bayern Munich made it 16 wins from 16 games this season to underline their credentials as early Champions League (CL) favorites, beating holders Paris St Germain (PSG) 2-1 away as Luis Diaz scored two goals and was shown a red card on Tuesday.

The Colombian winger struck twice before being sent off for a violent tackle on Achraf Hakimi on the stroke of halftime.

PSG, who reduced the arrears through Joao Neves, dominated possession after the break but failed to make it fully count and slipped to their first defeat in the competition since last season’s quarterfinal second leg against Aston Villa.

The result kept Bayern top of the 36-team league on a maximum 12 points, with PSG in third, three points adrift and with more injury concerns after Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele were replaced early.

“Most importantly I hope that it’s not too bad for Hakimi. We went through this in the US (at the Club World Cup against PSG) with (Jamal) Musiala,” Bayern Coach Vincent Kompany told a press conference.

“What I tell players is that when there’s some hype don’t believe it. We’ve won 16 but from tomorrow onwards it’s back to zero, nobody has won the Champions League today.”

His PSG counterpart Luis Enrique echoed that point of view, saying: “Today’s standings mean nothing. What matters is February, March, April, May.”

“It’s always hard to lose at home. We need to assert ourselves and play better. We faced a well-organized team, especially physically. We couldn’t get our game going,” PSG Captain Marquinhos said.

“There are still some positives to take from this match – the team remain ambitious. But we have to do better; they were superior to us. In the second half, we were on top, but it was after the red card.”

Dembele made his first Champions League start of the season but his night was short-lived, the France forward being replaced by Lee Kang-in after 25 minutes.

PSG, who had beaten Bayern 2-0 in the Club World Cup quarterfinals in July, came out flying with their trademark high pressing but were caught cold in the fourth minute when Diaz smashed home after Lucas Chevalier had parried Michael Olise’s effort.

Dembele thought he had levelled midway through the half only for his goal to be ruled out for offside, as PSG pressed but looked unusually fragile at the back.