Champions League: Tolisso inspires Bayern but PSG top group

Bayern Munich 3 - 1 Paris Saint-Germain
(Lewandowski 8'. Tolisso 37', 69' - Mbappe 50')

For the final few minutes of the first half it looked as though Bayern Munich could actually do it.

A predatory strike by Robert Lewandowski in the eighth minute set Bayern moving against a PSG side who lacked the energy, aggression and hunger of their opponents in the opening 45 minutes.

PSG struggled to get to grips with the movement of James Rodriguez, Franck Ribery and Tolisso, whose late run from midfield allowed him to meet Rodriguez’s pinpoint cross from the left and head Bayern into a commanding 2-0 lead shortly before the break.

But rather than build on their advantage, Bayern surrendered it just five minutes after the restart. A majestic scoop of the ball by Edinson Cavani allowed Kylian Mbappe to meet it with his head and cut Bayern’s lead in half.

Mbappe was PSG’s most dangerous forward on the night as Mats Hummels and Niklas Süle did a good job of keeping Neymar and Cavani as quiet as could be expected.

Bayern dug in though and prevented PSG from grabbing a second. In fact, the hosts found a second wind in the second period and Tolisso finished a fine move after the impressive Kingsley Coman glided past Dani Alves and picked out his French compatriot.

Both sides threatened to add another — and it was another good night for Bayern’s reserve keeper Sven Ulreich in place of the long-term injured Manuel Neuer — but Bayern were ultimately unable to repair the damage of their 3-0 defeat in Paris in September.

The Bavarians progress to the last 16 as runners-up, but given the rate with which they are improving under Jupp Heynckes, no team will fancy a trip to the Allianz Arena.

 

As it happened:

FULL TIME: That's it. It may not matter in terms of the group but that was an impressive display from Bayern that offers them some measure of revenge for the defeat in Paris. Our match report will be with you shortly, so stay with us.

90+3 -- Lewandowski with a huge chance to level Tolisso's tally for the night but he opts to lift it over the keeper and gets it all wrong.

90+2 -- PSG come forward now. First Neymar can't find his feet in the box, then Ulreich makes another smart save from Mbappe. Neuer's understudy has been impressive tonight.

90' -- It's Bayern who are doing all the pressing here but they can't quite find the final ball.

88' -- Rafinha bursts down the left but is indecisive, allowing PSG to narrow his crossing angle. Eventually he tries to find Lewandowski but it's blocked.

85' -- Bayern make their final change, Rafinha replaces Alaba.

83' -- Draxler gets booked and James gets hooked. The latter is replaced by Arturo Vidal.

80' -- The ball bobbles and bounces about from a corner before Thiago Silva bicycle kicks over from the penalty spot.

77' -- Ulreich out of his goal smartly to head the ball clear from Mbappe.

72' -- Tolisso through again but goes to ground as Areola comes out. Replays show that was a pretty pathetic dive but Tolisso did at least hold his hands up. Still, he's lucky not to have been booked.

69' -- GOAL! Tolisso again. Coman does brilliantly to beat Alves to a ball on the right touchline, delays and then finds the Frenchman, who drives home from 10 yards out.

66' -- Bayern make their first change. Müller on for Ribery, who has looked good as he continues his comeback from injury.

60' -- Big chance for Draxler but he strikes tmely at Ulreich. The Bayern keeper has more to do moments later as he beats away Mbappe's drive. PSG have really turned it up since the break.

59' -- Ribery again finds space in the box but he's snuffed out. 

55' -- Alaba pulls one back to Ribery but his touch lets him down.

52' -- Rudy and Rabiot come together, the PSG man goes ground and Rudy goes in the book. Soft one that.

50' -- GOAL! That fleeting hope looks to be gone now. Cavani cushions a high ball, allows it to bounce gently then scoops it over the defender for Mbappe to nod in. 

46' -- And we're back underway at the Allianz. A reminder, Bayern need to win by four clear goals to nick the top spot off PSG:

HALF TIME: Excellent from Bayern, who are half way to the four-goal win that would lead them to the top of Group B. The Germans have been thoroughly in control, with Coman, James and Ribery all troubling PSG. The visitors have failed to live up to their reputation, though Neymar and Mbappe have provided a couple of glimpses of their quality. At the moment, this one looks pretty far from a dead rubber.

45' -- Neymar gets free again and stands one up but Ribery, of all people, is there to head it clear.

43' -- Neymar works a little space on the left edge of the box. His shot slips through Ulreich's fingers somewhat but the keeper did enough.

37' -- Goal! Great stuff from Ribery and James down the left hand side and the Colombian whips in an absolute peach of a ball before Tolisso slams a header in. Lovely goal. Surely, the 4-0 isn't on. Surely?

34' -- PSG suddenly burst in to life. Mbappe splits the defense with a lovely outside of the boot flick and Neymar is in. The Brazilian curls towards the far post but Ulreich gets a flick round the post. The corner is wasted.

30' -- Ribery and James are interchanging between the central and left positions in Bayern's attack. It's posing PSG plenty of questions.

26' -- Ribery and Alaba combine well down the left but they're squeezed out. Süle meets the corner with the textbook-approved downward attacking header but it's blocked.

22' -- Kimmich booked for pulling down Neymar. Bayern justifiably frustrated that challenge was deemed worthy of the book while Verratti's wasn't.

20' -- Coman free down the right now but his cross is deflected to the keeper. Bayern and having the better of it so far, they're getting plenty of joy in wide areas in particular.

19' -- James, who has started impressively, gets away down the left and Verratti chops him down with a slide tackle that somehow didn't earn him a booking. PSG deal with the free kick easily.

6' -- It's all slowed down a touch but Rudy absolutely balloons one over the bar with the first shot for a while.

10' -- Lewandowski almost in again but his shot is blocked.

8' -- GOAL! James works some space in the left and hangs one up, Alaba wins the header and it drops at the feet of Lewandowski, who turns and finishes from close range. He looked offside there but replays showed one defender was slow out of the blocks.

6' -- Coman shifts the ball smartly on the left and whips low. It could be a shot, it could be a cross but it's safely gathered by Areola either way. 

4' -- Mbappe almost draws first blood, cutting in from the flank and forcing Ulreich in to a smart save.

3' -- Franck Ribery is barged to the deck by Thiago Silva. The Frenchman captains Bayern tonight.

1'-- And we're off. 

These teams last met at the end of September when Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe tore Bayern apart in a 3-0 win that spelt the end for Carlo Ancelotti. Unlike the Italian on that night, his replacement Jupp Heynckes has named something close to his strongest side - though Arturo Vidal, Thomas Müller and Jerome Boateng only make the bench.