Kim Goal Sees Bayern Past PSG

Bayern started the biggest eight days of the season so far by hosting Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League Tuesday evening. Given their performances in the Champions League thus far, this match was nearly a must win for both sides.

Vincent Kompany sent out a changed lineup from the one he sent out Friday with Manuel Neuer in goal, Konrad Laimer, Dayot Upamecano, Kim MinJae, and Alphonso Davies in defense, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in midfield with Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala and Kingsley Coman just behind Harry Kane in attack.

Three Things We Noticed
Kim The Hero
While it was a tough second half to his opening campaign last season, this year Kim has been showing more consistent performances and has offered stability in the defense.

This match was an example of why Bayern were so eager to sign the Korean international two summers ago. Kim managed to score the only goal of the match as he put in the rebound of a mis-cleared cross.

More importantly, he made several key blocks and tackles that kept PSG at bay. It is this kind of performance that Bayern will need from Kim the rest of the season if they are to win trophies.

Missed Chances
Despite the positive result, this was yet another example of Bayern not finishing well. Over the last four matches, Bayern have managed to win every match but in three of them they only managed to score one goal and the lone exception was Friday’s match against Augsburg in which Kane scored two penalties and a very late third.

The Munich side has been creating opportunities. This match saw several very good chances just miss or be saved. Most of the matches in recent days haven’t been short of chances, however they have not been able to convert chances with any regularity.

Kane, Musiala, Coman, Olise, Gnabry and Sané have all been responsible for wasting chances. Kane probably more than most.

Of course most teams go through spells of like this and while there is probably no reason to panic, hopefully Kompany can work with the team to break this funk they’re in before it becomes a problem in the coming matches.

Another Clean Sheet
Seven clean sheets in a row is something we haven’t seen in quite some time. While there will continue to be questions regarding the system, players and stability against bigger opponents, Kompany clearly has Bayern playing well and minimizing the chances conceded.

Even PSG only managed eleven total shots and three on goal in today’s match. Of course this is also partially due to them being forced to play most of the second half down a man thanks to Dembélé’s sending off, but Bayern still did a solid job defensively.

As mentioned above, Kim deserves a lot of credit for several key blocks and tackles but Upamecano, Goretzka and Kimmich all made some very good defensive plays as well.

Bayern will face another big challenge this Sunday evening as they take on BVB in front of the Yellow wall. While the lead in the Bundesliga is not insignificant as things stand, a win at their long time nemeses would put them even further along the way to recapturing the league title this season.