Champions League final: Bayern to impose style on PSG

The BBC Sports News Aug - 23 - 2020 , 05:00

Bayern Munich are ready to "give it all" and finish an impressive season in style by winning the Champions League, says boss Hansi Flick.

The German champions and cup winners have been ruthless in 2019-20 and end the season against Paris St-Germain in the final in Lisbon on Sunday.

Should they win the Champions League for the first time since 2013, Bayern will complete only the second European-domestic treble in their proud history.

"It is a special game," said Flick, whose side have won all 10 games in this season's Champions League.

"We have made a huge step forward in terms of our development and the team is ready to give it all and try and win."

While Bayern are hunting a sixth triumph in the competition, PSG are looking to win the Champions League for the first time.

Boss Thomas Tuchel says it is a "small advantage" that Bayern are used to reaching the final.

"It's a big challenge but we are also confident," added the former Borussia Dortmund boss.

"We have the feeling of having deserved our place in the final. We are ready to fight."

Team news
Bayern defender Jerome Boateng, 31, faces a late fitness test after coming off in the semi-final win over Lyon with a muscular problem.

"I talked to him this morning and he is going to be part of the final practice session," said Flick on Saturday when asked about the former Manchester City player's chances of playing.

France defender Benjamin Pavard, 24, is also available again after coming off the bench in the 3-0 win against Lyon - his first competitive action since 4 July after suffering a damaged ankle.

"I'm pleased that Benjamin has managed to be with us and I'm sure that he's 100% fit," added Flick.

"However, Saturday will be another test and after that, I'll consider the options with my team."

Keeper Keylor Navas could return for Paris St-Germain.

The three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid missed the semi-final win over RB Leipzig with an injury.

Former Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye and Marco Verratti are also in contention.

Bayern will not play it safe
Bayern have swept all before them in this season's competition, including a crushing 8-2 win over Barcelona in a one-leg quarter-final.

Their attack has been relentless, with the team scoring 42 goals in 10 games - including 10 in two group matches against Tottenham and seven over two legs against Chelsea in the last 16.

Flick said he will not play it safe against PSG, who possess one of the planet's finest forward lines in Neymar, who cost a world record fee of 222m euros (£200m) from Barcelona in 2017, Kylian Mbappe and Angel di Maria.

"In our games over the last 10 months we've always tried to impose our style on the opposition and always played with a high line," added Flick.

"Ultimately we've got results doing that, so we won't change too much on that score."

Bayern forward Robert Lewandowski has scored 15 Champions League goals this season, two behind the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14.

'Winning Champions League was my mission'
Mbappe helped France win the World Cup in 2018 and the 21-year-old is eager to get his hands on the Champions League trophy for the first time.

"That is exactly the reason I joined the club," the former Monaco forward said.

"I always said I wanted to write the history of French football. I have another opportunity to do that on Sunday."

PSG have been one of Europe's biggest spenders, but also one of the continent's most high-profile underachievers on the grandest stage.

Mbappe added: "Since I joined we have experienced a number of disappointments, now we're in the final and that showed I didn't give up and nor did we give up as a team."

27 years since a French team won Champions League - the stats

Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain have met eight times previously, all in the Champions League group stages - PSG have won five of those matches, with Bayern winning the other three, including the most recent game in December 2017.
This is PSG's first ever European Cup/Champions League final, becoming the 41st team to reach the final. The last six teams competing in their first final have all lost, with the last first-time winner being Borussia Dortmund in 1997 against Juventus.
Bayern have reached their 11th European Cup/Champions League final, with only Real Madrid playing in more (16). They currently have five titles, the fourth-best tally behind Real Madrid (13), AC Milan (7) and Liverpool (6).
PSG have reached only their third major Uefa final, previously doing so in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 Cup Winners' Cup.
Bayern have scored 42 goals in 10 games in this season's Champions League, with only Barcelona in 1999-2000 scoring more in a single campaign (45), although they played 16 games that season.
PSG are the fifth French side to reach a European Cup/Champions League final, and first since Monaco in 2004. Only one of the previous four has been victorious, with Marseille winning 1-0 against AC Milan in the 1993 final.
Bayern boss Hansi Flick is only the sixth person to play for and manage the same side in a European Cup/Champions League final, after Miguel Munoz (Real Madrid), Vicente del Bosque (Real Madrid), Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan), Pep Guardiola (Barcelona) and Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid). Flick played in Bayern's 2-1 defeat in the 1987 final by Porto, and could be the first of the six to lose as both a player and manager at a single club.

Credit: The BBC