Published 13:30 IST, August 22nd 2020
PSG's incredible, domineering journey to reach the Champions League 2020 final
Thomas Tuchel's PSG have been thoroughly dominant en route to the Champions League final, conceding just five goals and scoring 25 throughout the tournament.
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Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain will face Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on August 23 at the Estadio da Luz. Thomas Tuchel's side have been dominant throughout the campaign, losing just one game and most recently overcame Bundesliga side RB Leipzig 3-0 to confirm their place in the final of the Champions League. The PSG vs Bayern Munich Champions League final promises to be a cracking encounter with star attackers on display and here's a look at how the French giants made it to their first-ever final in the competition.
WE’VE DONE IT! 🤩
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 18, 2020
WE ARE IN THE FINAL OF THE @ChampionsLeague!
❤️💙#𝗪𝗲𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀 pic.twitter.com/ZKdaUU4hqH
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PSG's journey to the UCL final: Finishing top of Group A sets ball rolling
PSG were drawn in Group A with Real Madrid, Galatasaray and Club Brugge. The Ligue 1 champions began their tournament with a stunning 3-0 win over Real Madrid at home with former Los Blancos star Angel Di Maria fittingly scoring twice and Thomas Meunier adding a third in stoppage time. Matchday 2 of the group stage saw PSG travel to Galatasaray as Mauro Icardi scored the only goal of the game to make it two wins in two for Tuchel's team. PSG then hammered Club Brugge 5-0 on Matchday 3 with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hattrick and Mauro Icardi netting twice.
In the reverse fixture, PSG secured a 1-0 win over Club Brugge at the Parc des Princes with Icardi once again scoring for the French side. PSG finally dropped points in their group when they travelled to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid. The game ended 2-2 and it was also the only two goals that PSG conceded throughout the group stage. The Parisians recorded a 5-0 over Galatasaray in their final group game, finishing top of Group A with 16 points from six games.
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PSG's journey to the Champions League final: Two-legged Round of 16 vs Dortmund
PSG drew Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in the Round of 16 and suffered their first defeat in the competition as the Black and Yellows ran out 2-1 winners at the Signal Iduna Park in the first leg. Erling Haaland scored a brace for the hosts while Neymar got a crucial away goal for PSG. However, the Parisians overturned a 2-1 deficit to win 2-0 in the second leg as Neymar and Juan Bernat confirmed PSG's spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
One-legged Champions League quarter-final vs Serie A high-flyers Atalanta
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Champions League changed its format with one-legged ties for the quarter-finals and semi-finals. PSG drew high-scoring Atalanta in the quarter-finals and fell behind when Mario Pasalic curled one in in the first half for the Bergamo side. PSG left it late and thanks to goals from Marquinhos and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, they avoided elimination in the quarter-finals.
Champions League semi-final vs RB Leipzig: Neymar runs the show
Following the win over Atalanta, PSG were favourites heading into their one-legged semi-final against RB Leipzig. Goals from Marquinhos and Angel Di Maria gave PSG a two-goal cushion before half time. Juan Bernat scored 10 minutes into the second half to make it 3-0 as PSG booked their spot in the final. Neymar's endeavour and hard work came to the fore in the semi-final as fans and pundits finally saw the most expensive player in the world step up in Europe.
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Image Credits - PSG Instagram
13:30 IST, August 22nd 2020