Kingsley Coman ghosted in at the back post, Thilo Kehrer had no idea he was there – not for the first time – and Joshua Kimmich curled the ball onto his forehead.
There were, on a game that lacked much quality, several bits of skill to coo over in the goal that crowned Bayern Munich champions of Europe, but the pass from inside their own half by Thiago Alcantara was the one that split Paris Saint-Germain open.
PSG had made most of the running in the first half, stifling Bayern’s passing game primarily through a high press all over the pitch, led by Neymar. He, along with Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria, had managed to cut off the German side’s passing options and force the likes of Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng to go long, rather than build from the back.
Advantage Bayern! ????
Parisian born Kingsley Coman bags a goal against his former club…
A BIG call for Hansi Flick to bring him into the starting XI #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/r3xMX3t3hr
— Football on BT Sport #Club2020 (@btsportfootball) August 23, 2020
One man that tactic cut out of the game was the influential Thiago, who could not receive the ball from his centre-backs or goalkeeper in the same way he usually would. In the first half, when he was getting the ball, it was generally in deeper positions from which it is naturally harder to influence the game going forward.
Something changed at halftime though and it was noticeable that in the build-up to the goal, the pressure on the ball is significantly reduced. Alphonso Davies is able to drop it inside to Thiago, who is only a few yards away from Neymar.
The Brazilian striker, whose work-rate in the semi-final was a key element of his performance, barely lifts a stud to prevent Thiago firing the ball 35 yards to Kimmich.
“He takes out six players with one pass, loads of shape on it and I don’t think he passes the ball without disguising it at all, ever,” Rio Ferdinand pointed out on BT Sport’s coverage. “It’s a beautiful pass, with great weight.”
By taking out all those players, Bayern for perhaps the first time found themselves with red bodies flooding the box. Kimmich had five men in front of him in red shirts and he picked out the one who had not been marked.
Thiago was substituted with five minutes to go and walked off the pitch for what many regard to have been the last time for Bayern.
If he does go to Liverpool in the coming weeks, he will bring something new to the Premier League – and he will leave behind him a hole that few players will be able to fill.
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from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3hnuY1r
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