European Final Weekend

Bayern Complete Season with a Treble

Bayern Munich ended their 2019/20 season with an unprecedented treble as they won the Champions League for the sixth time in the club's history, after beating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon. Both teams have won their leagues and the domestic cup competition with winning the Champions League the icing on the cake. Both Thomas Tuchel and Hansi Flick made little changes to their starting lineups with Keylor Navas returning from injury for PSG while Kingsley Coman started ahead of Ivan Perišić for Bayern Munich. Despite no goals in the first half, it was a tense game with both sides giving each other little opportunity to strike a blow. The first big chance of the game came from Neymar, who had his shot saved by Manuel Neuer and had another opportunity but the German keeper blocked the shot. Àngel Di Maria had a massive opportunity to get PSG in front, as the Argentine was laid a chance from 10 yards but blazed his shot above the crossbar. Bayern's attack hardly had any chances to hurt as the Parisians handled the likes of Lewandowski, Müller and Gnarby well while Bayern were forced to make an early change with Niklas Süle coming on for Jerome Boateng. Kliyan Mbappé had a massive chance just before halftime but the shot was straight to Neuer as the game was scoreless at the break. The second half continued were the first left off plus a fierce challenge from Serge Gnarby on Neymar which created an altercation between Gnarby and Leandro Paredes. Bayern eventually went in front just before the hour mark as Joshua Kimmich found Kingsley Coman in the penalty box with the Frenchman heading the ball past Keylor Navas to give the Bavarians the lead. Both sides made changes but PSG gave Bayern a scare when Marquinhos shot at the near post but was saved by Neuer. With the game running away for PSG, they needed to find something to get level the score and fast. A late chance with time running out with Eric Choupo-Moting missing a chance but was called offside. Eventually, the game finished 1-0 as Bayern win their sixth Champions League title capping off an incredible season while PSG and Thomas Tuchel will be ruing the chances they missed during the game.

Sevilla Make it Six

 

A Diego Carlos header which was turned in by Romelu Lukaku proved to be decisive as Sevilla won the Europa League Final, beating Inter Milan 3-2 in Cologne, Germany on Friday. The Italian giants were favourites to win the final as it was Inter's first European final in a decade while Sevilla have won the competition five times. The game started with some controversy as Diego Carlos brought down Romelu Lukaku with the Inter players pushing the referee to give Carlos a red card but got a yellow instead. Lukaku converted from the penalty to give Inter the lead in just five minutes. It lasted for only seven minutes as Luuk de Jong powered his header into the net, leveling the score. The first half was frantic from both teams as they were easily generating chances. Luuk de Jong added a second from another header which gave Sevilla the lead for the first time in the tie. That only lasted two minutes as Diego Godin equalized for the Nerazzurri, putting them back level. Momentum of the game swung back and forth as the game ended 2-2 in a thrilling first half. The second half was less frantic than the first but chances were still being generated from both teams. Sergio Reguilon had a shot blocked by Diego Godín while Lukaku had a shot saved by Sevilla keeper Yassine Bounou. The plot of the game took a twist with fifteen minutes left on the clock. Diego Carlos did an overhead kick that looked to be going wide but was turned in by Romelu Lukaku, putting Sevilla back in front with a few minutes left. The Andalusian club were able to frustrate Inter but Antonio Conte's pushed to find an equalizer with Jules Kounde clearing the ball off the line from an Alexis Sánchez shot. The match finished 3-2 as Los Palanganas win the Europa League for the sixth time with coach Julen Lopetegui in tears after the final whistle.