All I can say is thank goodness this should be a game we can enjoy. Because in all frankness, the past four matches featuring Arsenal have been, politely, dull affairs. Effective, yes. Clinical, maybe. But definitely BORING AF.
Unlike the first leg of this Champions League semifinal between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, which was legendary. Bonkers. Brilliant. Sublime. Quite possibly the greatest game of soccer in 2026, maybe even of the 2025-26 Champions League campaign.
It’s too greedy to want another like that, right? No. Unlike Schneider Weiße, you can’t get a hangover indulging in too much brilliant soccer. Bring it on. And the best part is, since their first match up resulted in a 5-4 win for PSG, the game will have to be open.
Bayern Say: “Defense? Nein, danke.”
Yes, this will be an open affair precisely because Bayern Munich has no appreciable defense and they’re a goal down. They HAVE to attack. And this suits them just fine.
All season long, they have won by pummeling the opposition offensively, and just being better at scoring.
Across all competitions, their last five matches had scorelines of 4-2, 2-0, 4-3, 4-5 and a 3-3 draw last weekend at Hoffenheim, where they had to claw back from a 3-0 deficit.
Even in Paris last Tuesday, they were down 5-2 before grabbing two to keep it close.
Bayern’s attack is manifestly ridiculous. Look at these stats (parenthesis numbers are league only):
- Harry Kane: 57 (33) goals and 8 (5) assists.
- Michael Olise: 24 (14) goals and 28 (19) assists.
- Luis Díaz: 26 (15) goals and 17 (13) assists.
The trio’s 60 league goals is higher than two-thirds of Bundesliga teams. It’s higher than the team totals for 85% of the Premier League sides.
Despite his relative youth in coaching, Vincent Kompany has so far done a masterful job of managing this side and preparing them for a match of this magnitude.
PSG are no slouch, either
Look, Paris Saint-Germain pulled this same trick last year. In the Champions League group phase, they did just enough to move on, then slowly gathered momentum until they became an unstoppable force.
This season’s momentum isn’t quite as formidable, and they’ve shown some uncharacteristic fragility at times. But they’re still replete with talent. Ousmane Dembélé might not be having a Ballon d’Or stat year, but he’s still on 20 (10) goals and 11 (6) assists.
But what will really surprise you with PSG is that ANYONE in their kit can score. They have eleven players with two or more goals in Champions League games; Atlético are in second place with eight. Hell, even PSG’s kitman can nutmeg you, pull a Cruyff-turn and curl the ball into the top corner.
With Luis Enrique at the helm, PSG have a soccer mind of outstanding nous and subtlety. He may still have some trick up his sleeve to spring on the German club.
Prediction
A total barnstormer, if there’s any justice in the world. And there certainly should be plenty of goals. Even sitting one goal behind, Bayern Munich have the advantage in this fixture, mainly because they’re playing at home. The ferocious atmosphere in Allianz Arena should fuel them. PSG won’t be cowed by that, but without a stellar showing from their backline, it’s only a question of how many goals they’ll allow Bayern to score.
Match: Bayern Munich 3 – 1 Paris Saint-Germain
Bayern will advance 7-6 on aggregate.
