Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Bayern Munich: 5 Talking Points as Coman's strike clinches UCL triumph for Bavarians | UEFA Champions League 2019-20
Bayern Munich ended a six-year wait for Champions League glory with a hard-earned 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday's final.
It seemed fitting that Kingsley Coman - who spent eleven years at PSG - would be the player to sink Thomas Tuchel's side, heading home after a well-worked team move just before the hour mark from Joshua Kimmich's excellent cross.
PSG, making their UCL Final debut, had plenty of goalscoring opportunities to respond and even break the deadlock in a cagey affair.
Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel di Maria all squandered big first-half chances while they had further promising sights of goal as time wore on, though Bayern's composure under pressure was key.
Captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer excelled en route to lifting his second UCL trophy, earning a hard-fought clean sheet against one of Europe's fiercest attacks.
Thiago Alcantara oozed class too, in what could be his final Bayern appearance, but what were five talking points as the Bundesliga champions finished the 2019-20 campaign with a flourish here?
#5 Thiago Silva delivers in his final PSG game
Since arriving in Lisbon earlier this month, one of the storylines has surrounded a ticking clock hanging over Thiago Silva's Paris Saint-Germain career.
Regardless of the result, this would be the Brazilian's final game for PSG after an eight-year spell and he did himself justice with an accomplished display against Bayern on his 315th appearance.
It was dented slightly when he received a late but equally necessary booking after halting an onrushing Robert Lewandowski - Bayern's in-form striker, no less.
But all-in-all, the captain led by example defensively during the biggest game in the club's history to date. It didn't go their way, but no blame could be attributed his way - he was the busiest and best of their back-four.
Coman's header was made easier by Thilo Kehrer's wayward positioning, allowing him to flick the ball goalwards. If not for the aforementioned challenge and a handful of other last-ditch interventions by Silva to deny matchwinner Coman, the scoreline would have been more comfortable in Bayern's favour.
He completed a game-high six clearances, with one block, interception and tackle apiece. His distribution was okay (80.9%), but would have been higher had he not continued to spray long balls forward searching for creative teammates.
Reports suggest a move to Chelsea is imminent, for a man who turns 36 next month. After performing like that in a Champions League final against Bayern, it's clear he's still got some more left at the highest level.
#4 Neymar and Coutinho, the tale of two Brazilians
Just like Mbappe found out later on, Neymar's move to Paris was heavily criticised - not purely to do with the astronomical release clause fee (£198m) they were prepared to pay for the forward's services.
His situation was completely different to Mbappe, who is seven years younger and has much more scope to grow over the coming years.
He was thriving at Barcelona as one-third of Europe's most feared trio: MSN, alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. He needed to be his own man but found himself in Kylian Mbappe's shadow at times in the French capital.
Although his finishing has been glaringly poor recently, he stepped up in the knockout stages this season when he needed to. This fixture was set up to be his true coming of age, at 28, having matured, embraced the trials and tribulations but developed his game along the way.
He was visibly tracking back out of possession in the first half, which spoke volumes for a player not known for his defensive contributions.
Even after having two opportunities in quick succession thwarted by Neuer, he was clearly determined to make a long-lasting impact on the game.
Then, Coman broke the deadlock. His head dropped, he struggled under pressure and was relinquishing possession for fun - the Bayern players overwhelmed him as time wore on, and finally, his frustrations were showing.
Across both teams, no player lost the ball more than his 27 times over 90 minutes.
Only di Maria (50%) had worse pass accuracy than his 59.1% on the pitch, and a promising season ended bitterly as he trudged past a Champions League trophy that has again eluded him.
By contrast, it was a welcome end to a frustrating campaign for his compatriot Philippe Coutinho. On-loan from Barcelona, the Bayern playmaker was an expensive acquisition - not exactly his fault - and subject to ridicule after departing Liverpool, who got exponentially better after his big-money move.
Although he hasn't been a bonafide starter in a competitive Bayern side this term, he's shown some flashes across all competitions. Impressive when called upon in the group stage, he came off the substitutes' bench to haunt Barcelona with a well-taken brace and assist late on in their historic 8-2 quarter-final victory.
He could've easily scored here too. He almost did with his first touch after Lewandowski lurked inside the area ready to tee him up, before returning the favour in stoppage-time.
Thilo Kehrer's dramatic sliding tackle denied the Brazilian from potentially earning an assist, but he won't mind. They won, after all.
Also Read: Reports: Barcelona unwilling to let Lionel Messi leave if massive release clause fee isn't met