Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich: Alphonso Davies expects a ‘goalfest’
Key talking points ahead of the Champions League final
2020 Uefa Champions League final
Who: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Munich When: Sunday 23 August Where: Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Lisbon, Portugal Kick-off time: 8pm (BST) UK TV coverage: live on BT Sport 1
Football fans watching Sunday’s Uefa Champions League final between Paris-Saint Germain and Bayern Munich should expect to see a glut of goals according to Alphonso Davies.
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Two of Europe’s most attacking sides go head-to-head in Lisbon and both teams can boast having a potent strikeforce.
PSG will hope their front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Ángel Di María can lead them to a first-ever Champions League title, while Bayern will be confident of their chances with goal machine Robert Lewandowski leading their attack.
Polish striker Lewandowski has scored 55 goals in all competitions this season and will be supported by the likes of Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry and Ivan Perišić.
The embarrassment of attacking riches should lead to an entertaining final, says Bayern star Davies. Speaking after Bayern’s 3-0 win over Lyon in the semi-final, the 19-year-old Canadian left-back said: “PSG are a good team. It will be a good game. There will be goals in that game.”
Van Persie: ‘Mbappe is something else’
Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Robin van Persie was asked to assess the talented attacking line-ups of the two teams and he picked out PSG’s Mbappe as the key player.
Speaking on BT Sport, Dutchman Van Persie said: “Lewandowski is such a joy to watch. For the last seven or eight years he’s been world class. So consistent.
“Neymar, everyone knows is a fantastic player. What I really like about him is no matter what even if he misses chances, he makes his dribbles. Even in the last game, the last round he made 16 dribbles which is the most in like the last 10 years we’ve seen. He’s unreal.
“But Mbappe is something else in my opinion. He plays at such a high level, such high speed as well but he still sees the through balls. Every choice he makes, when to dribble, when to pass, when to shoot, when to give an assist. He gives a lot of assists as well.
“For me I would go for Mbappe because he is playing on a different speed, a different level.”
Key talking points
Ten out of ten
Five-time European champions Bayern have won all ten of their Champions League matches this season and scored 42 goals in the process.
Lewandowski has scored 15 of their goals and notable results during the campaign include a 7-2 win at Tottenham in the group stage and an 8-2 hammering of Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
Defence is also strong
As well Neymar, Mbappe and Di María, French champions PSG can also call upon strikers such as Mauro Icardi. The Argentine forward has scored five goals during the run to the final, the same amount as Mbappe.
It’s not just the attack that’s strong for Thomas Tuchel’s team. In their run to the final PSG only conceded five goals in ten games - fewer than any other team in the Champions League this season.
Did you know?
This year’s Champions League final is the first since 1998 to feature two teams who are the reigning champions of their respective countries.
What time is kick-off and is it on TV?
Sunday’s Champions League final in Lisbon kicks off at 8pm (BST) and the match is live on BT Sport 1.
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Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.
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