Kingsley Coman celebrates scoring during PSG v Bayern in the Champions League final

UEFA Champions League final: Reaction from Bayern Munich and PSG camp - Hansi Flick, Thomas Tuchel and Kingsley Coman

By Sporting Life

Football

Mon August 24, 2020 · 5y ago

Bayern Munich edged Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Portugal on Sunday. We look at the reaction from both camps.

Bayern Munich

Coman's joy tinged with sadness

Kingsley Coman celebrates scoring during in the Champions League final

Kingsley Coman offered some sympathy to his hometown club after scoring the goal that gave Bayern Munich a 1-0 win over Paris St Germain and a sixth European title.

Coman, who was born in Paris and came through the PSG academy, headed in the only goal in the 59th minute as Bayern made it 11 wins out of 11 in the Champions League this season to complete a treble for the German giants.

Speaking to RMC Sport, Coman said: “It’s extraordinary, it’s great happiness. But there is a little sadness for Paris. They have had an extraordinary journey, we must respect what Paris has done.

“We tried to put them under a lot of pressure. They played on the counter-attack. We didn’t concede a goal, that’s the most important thing. Paris had a great game, so did we. It was a great final.”

Flick hails 'sensational progress'

Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick

Bayern manager Hans-Dieter Flick said he had “not set a deadline for when the party has to stop” after a stunning first season in charge.

“Back in November you could read in the press that no-one should’ve been afraid of Bayern, that they shouldn’t have respected Bayern, because it was such a bad side. So I think we really have produced sensational progress since then,” he said.

“I really think we deserved it tonight, based on what the team have produced over the last 10 months, particularly all season long in the Champions League. It’s been incredible.

“We really are proud of the whole staff. The way that we play football, the way that we go out there as a team, we really make life difficult for the opposition.

“It was a very high tempo, high octane match. There were chances at both ends, and we really have the best goalkeeper in the world in Manuel Neuer.”

Gnabry on team's reward for hard work

Former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry, speaking on BT Sport, said: “Of course winning the trophy today is the best thing that could happen. We all worked incredibly hard and the spirit we have talked about has come through and we’re the best team in Europe.

“Paris came out wanting to win and we came out wanting to win. It was a difficult game. No one gave up easy but in the end we came through and that’s what matters.”

Davies: Dream come true

Alphonso Davies, Bayern’s 19-year-old left-back, became a European champion in only his eighth appearance in the competition.

It continued a remarkable journey for a player born in a refugee camp in Ghana and raised in Canada before joining Bayern last year.

“It feels really good,” he said on BT Sport. “It’s everything you dream of as a kid growing up in cold Edmonton and then coming to Europe, to win the Champions League with a great club like Bayern.

“It goes to show what a great team I have around me, helping me. To get the opportunity to play is really amazing for me.

“I want my story to inspire people. If you set your mind to it, you can do anything. I’m happy to have a Champions League medal around my neck and a trophy by my side.”

Kimmich: We had a feeling of invincibility

Joshua Kimmich has revealed Bayern Munich went into their Champions League final showdown with Paris St Germain with a sense of “invincibility”.

The defender Kimmich told the club’s official website: “It is the biggest day of my career. I can’t describe what it means to be on the pitch with a team like this one.

“Winning a title like that with brothers is the best you can achieve. Hansi Flick has given us a very good feeling in the camp and given us a lot of confidence right from the off.

“Each victory has given us more and more confidence. When you make mistakes, someone else makes up for them.

“We weren’t without mistakes (in the final) either, but we had a slight feeling of invincibility. I think we deserved to win this competition.”

Muller: We deserved it but also rode our luck

Forward Thomas Muller said: “It feels incredible. We’ve been on a journey, we’ve come relatively far from how we felt in the autumn, and then we went on a run that was sensational.

“We’ve also deserved this feeling. We have the team spirit – the boys are ready to toil. We also rode our luck and had Manuel Neuer between the sticks.

“It wasn’t our best game, but we hung in there and now we’re on top.”

On social media

Paris Saint-Germain

Tuchel: We showed unbelievable fight

Thomas Tuchel, who watched on from the sidelines with his foot in a boot after suffering an injury, said it was a “bitter defeat” but one that showed PSG can compete with the best.

“It was a big, big fight between two strong, strong sides, two very equal sides,” he said on BT Sport.

“I had the feeling before that the first goal could be decisive in this match and it was a pity we couldn’t do it because it would have been a big challenge for them to come back.

“But we showed unbelievable fight and if you did the same again it would absolutely be possible to win the game 1-0.

“We showed we are a strong side and we can be proud of that. Now we have a bitter defeat but we do not worry too much about it because we can go on.”

Herrera: We feel like s***

“Tonight, we feel like s***,” said ex-Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera on RMC Sport.

“But we have built something important for the club and the supporters. There are no words this evening but tomorrow we will think about what we did together.

“It will be difficult to sleep tonight as it is difficult to talk to you, but we did something important and we will improve next year.”

Silva: PSG can bounce back stronger

Departing defender Thiago Silva was able to take comfort from the experience of Liverpool, who bounced back from defeat by Real Madrid in the 2018 final to win the competition against Tottenham 12 months later.

He told the club’s official website: “We’ve not finished this competition in the way we’d hoped – they were more clinical in front of goal than us – but I’m proud of our team.

“To win major trophies, you have to go through this. I remember Liverpool lost a final before winning it the next year.

“We have to think positively. I won’t be here any more, but I’ll be an extra supporter.”