"I think it’s a really tough defeat," said chairman of the board Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in opening his speech at the traditional post-match banquet as he addressed a somewhat bewildered audience. FC Bayern had just lost 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the second Champions League group match in a setback in the race to win the group. "What we saw tonight was not the real Bayern," added Rummenigge.
Ahead of the "prestigious match" (Rummenigge) in front of a sell-out crowd at the Parc des Princes, the record champions had "high hopes" as central defender Niklas Süle revealed. However, the hosts took the lead just two minutes into the game through Dani Alves and then sat back relying on counter-attacks through their attacking trio of Neymar, Edison Cavani and Kylian Mbappé.
"Conceding a goal after just one minute is the worst possible scenario. That makes you play into their hands," declared a disappointed Arjen Robben after the final whistle. While FCB were not unduly affected by the early goal and went on to control much of the game, there was a lack of clinical finishing and the necessary fortune in front of the opposition net.
"We had to attack and PSG just waited for the chance to play on the break. We had some good chances but were unable to find the right balance to prevent counter-attacks. That was the key factor," said Carlo Ancelotti after the game. In a quick counter-attack just after the half-hour mark, Cavani made it 2-0. "We shouldn't be surprised PSG play to their strengths when we go 1-0 down straightaway," said Joshua Kimmich.
After the break, Bayern tried everything against a "really passive PSG," as Thomas Müller declared. "We had a lot of space but were not effective enough in using the openings. 18 corners to one clearly shows we tried hard." Robben said: "We put in loads of crosses and corners in the first half and the second but we couldn't hit the target."
The same did not apply to the hosts with Neymar securing the win in the middle of the second half on 63 minutes to inflict the biggest defeat on FC Bayern in a Champions League group match. "It's not good to stand here after having lost 3-0. We have to look forwards," demanded Müller. "Losing is part of sport and football. But the most important thing is for us is to stand together. We've got another game on Sunday. We have to react by making sure we win and nothing else will do," added Robben.
The chairman of the board Rummenigge was also clear in his mind after the defeat, "we need to analyse and discuss it and then draw the right conclusions," looking forward to the next match in Berlin it is "important after this game to get back on track asap and demonstrate what FC Bayern stands for and then show we are a team that made the headlines in recent years in Europe and at home and that we are going to carry on in that vein."
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