Football

Bayern beats PSG, Tottenham fall to Milan

February 15, 2023 9:18 am

Kingsley Coman [left] after scoring for Bayern Munich. Brahim Diaz celebrates after scoring for AC Milan

Kingsley Coman repeated his 2020 Champions League final heroics as Bayern Munich beat Paris St-Germain 1 – nil in their last 16 first-leg tie.

The Frenchman volleyed home the winner early in the second half in Paris.

Lionel Messi started and Kylian Mbappe came off the bench after recent injuries, but neither could inspire a below-par PSG.

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Mbappe looked to have rescued a late draw, however his goal was ruled out for offside in the build-up.

The Ligue 1 champions have now lost their last three matches in all competitions.

In another Champions League clash this morning, Tottenham defeatd AC Milan after Brahim Diaz gave them a narrow win in the first leg of their last-16 tie at the San Siro.

Tottenham will have to produce a Champions League comeback after Diaz nodded in early on after Spurs goalkeeper Fraser Forster had saved a Theo Hernandez shot and then superbly got a hand on the scorer’s initial follow-up attempt.

Antonio Conte’s side looked relatively comfortable for long periods of the contest against the seven-time European champions – as a youthful pairing of Pape Sarr and Oliver Skipp deputised ably for the suspended Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and the injured Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield.

However, they were rarely able to build any attacking momentum with their front three of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and, until his withdrawal, Dejan Kulusevski well shackled by a disciplined home defence.

Aside from ambitious long-range efforts from Emerson Royal and Sarr, Conte’s side appeared most capable of threatening from set-pieces but neither Kane nor Eric Dier were able to direct headers on goal from two excellent Son deliveries.

In the end, Spurs were grateful for the profligacy of the hosts as Belgian midfielder Charles de Ketelaere and German defender Malick Thiaw both headed excellent opportunities – to put the Italian side firmly in control of the tie – wide.

Had either nodded in from close range, Spurs would have faced an even more challenging recovery operation in the return leg in London on Wednesday, 8 March.

As it is, they must try to turn the tie round without Dier, who will be suspended after he collected a second-half booking.