After Bayern Munich’s exit from the Champions League semifinals against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, coach Vincent Kompany chose to highlight the positive aspects of their campaign. The match ended in a 1-1 draw in Munich, which resulted in a 6-5 aggregate win for PSG, the defending champions, following their 5-4 victory in the first leg in Paris the previous week.
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A stunning play in the third minute saw Khvicha Kvaratskhelia break free after a quick one-two with Fabián Ruiz, setting up an unmarked Ousmane Dembélé to score under the crossbar. Harry Kane’s equalizer in stoppage time proved too late to save Bayern’s pursuit of a treble in the Bundesliga, German Cup, and Champions League.
This loss means Bayern will miss out on their seventh European title this season. However, they did make progress compared to their recent history, having been eliminated in the quarterfinals for four of the last five years, including the previous season. “We made progress this season,” said Kompany. “We need to do it again.”
Kompany remarked, “I don’t have the ability to be disappointed for long. In the end, we lost two very tight games against a strong opponent. We needed to be more decisive.” He extended his congratulations to Paris, noting, “The Champions League is over for us this season, but we’ll have another chance — and that’s motivating for me.”
Bayern players were frustrated with some referee decisions, including a situation where Nuno Mendes should have been cautioned for a handball when the ball hit his arm in the first half, although the referee instead penalized Konrad Laimer for a different handball. Further protests arose when Vitinha was involved in an awkward situation that the referee ruled not a handball.
Despite their frustrations, Kompany downplayed the significance of the referee’s decisions while pointing out that more time should have been allotted during stoppage time. Although Bayern controlled possession throughout the match, PSG’s efficiency was evident, with Désiré Doué and Kvaratskhelia keeping Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on his toes after halftime.
“PSG were clinical; they scored five goals and showed their quality in the first leg,” Neuer reflected. “We were close to reaching the final but just couldn’t finish the job.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.