Euro kings
epa08620941 Munich's Kingsley Coman (C) lifts the trophy as his teammates celebrate after winning the UEFA Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in Lisbon, Portugal, 23 August 2020. Bayern Munich won 1-0. EPA/Matt Childs / POOL
Paris St Germain youth player Kingsley Coman scored the winner to seal Bayern Munich’s sixth Champions League title in Lisbon on Sunday night.
Coman was the difference in a tense final as Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had to be oppit to deny the PSG attack of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel di Maria.
With both teams chasing a treble this season, the stakes were high and Coman’s 59th-minute header sealed a perfect run in the tournament for the Germans - winning all of their 11 games in the campaign.
And the 24-year-old, who his teammates call “The King”, added his first European Cup to his incredible haul of eight league titles.
The Parisian says: “This is an extraordinary feeling.
“I feel a lot of joy, but also sadness for Paris. It hurts my heart a bit even though I am 100 percent Bayern.”
Coach Hans Flick added of his player: “Perhaps he’s finally stepped out of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben’s shadow this season.”
Coman isn’t the only man transformed by Flick after the former Germany assistant coach took the reins from Niko Kovac as caretaker in November, with Bayern struggling down in fourth in the Bundesliga.
From his 36 games in charge, Bayern won 33, winning their last 21 matches.
And Flick says: “I am proud of this team.
“When I started in November I read the headlines: ‘No need to fear or respect Bayern Munich anymore’, ‘The team is awful’.
“But the development of my team since then has been sensational. We made maximum use of everything. It is not easy to win three titles. It was hard work.”