In The Zone: How Paris and Bayern's shooting stars gave us a night to remember
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Article summary
UEFA Technical Observer Erik ten Hag hails the attacking and finishing abilities of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern München in an outstanding Champions League semi-final first leg.
Article top media content
Article body
"I think all football lovers will have enjoyed watching that," declared Paris Saint-Germain captain Marquinhos. Luis Enrique, his coach, was even more emphatic. "The best game I've ever managed as a coach," he asserted.
The superlatives will continue to flow as football fans reflect on Tuesday's exceptional, record-breaking UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg between Paris and Bayern München – only the second nine-goal game at this stage of the competition in the 70-year history of the European Cup/Champions League. For the record, the previous one was Rangers 3-6 Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960.
"I think you saw two giants going toe to toe," said Bayern’s Harry Kane and for UEFA Technical Observer Erik ten Hag, it was not just a meeting of similar philosophies but of attacking footballers with brilliance in their boots – as we will highlight in the following analysis, brought to you by FedEx.
"It's man against man over the whole pitch and then you have players capable of outplaying their opponent in the one-on-one with movements or dribbles that create space at immense speed," Ten Hag said. "And then they have the ability to finish."
Paris' incredible efficiency
Ten Hag described Paris as "incredibly effective", noting they had just 20 penalty-box touches to Bayern's 52. And how they made them count – as witnessed in the video above.
First, we see Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s equaliser for 1-1. Among the details to savour are the winger's double movement to get behind, then the stepover to unbalance Josip Stanišić and the touch inside to create the shooting angle. "It's great movement from Kvaratskhelia," said Ten Hag. "With the dribble inside and the finish, it's world-class football."
For Ten Hag, Paris' forwards were "almost impossible to defend" at times and clip two shows the stunning precision of Player of the Match Ousmane Dembélé, with the shot between Dayot Upamecano's legs and just inside the near post for their fifth goal. "[Manuel] Neuer can do nothing for this goal," added Ten Hag. "It's so accurate.”
Indeed, Paris' goals had an xG value of just 1.08 and came from only five shots on target – echoing their clinical finishing against Chelsea in the last 16.
Bayern's brilliant response
Bayern's own magnificent contribution is acknowledged in this second video, featuring the Luis Díaz strike that made it 5-4.
Ten Hag noted the "incredible pass from Harry Kane" then praised Díaz for the way he feigned to shoot, causing Marquinhos to shift position, prior to his finish. "He takes the ball down and is manipulating the defender by changing direction," explained Ten Hag. "You see Marquinhos doing everything right but the finish is so precise."
That reduced Bayern's deficit to a single goal ahead of next week's second leg. What will they need then? "More... even more," said their coach Vincent Kompany. We can hardly wait.
More like this
