Harry Diamond
Ander Herrera says Bayern Munich killed a wasteful Paris Saint-Germain after honestly reflecting on a ‘sh*t’ experience of playing in a Champions League final without fans.
Paris Saint-Germain’s hopes of winning the Champions League for the first time in their history were ended following a 1-0 defeat to Bayern in Lisbon, former PSG player Kingsley Coman scoring the only goal of the game as the Bundesliga side sealed a sixth European title and completed a historic treble.
It proved to be a frustrating evening for PSG who had the better of the first-half chances and found Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in fine form, with Herrera admitting his side’s lack of clinical edge proved costly in club football’s biggest game.
“The conclusion that I have right now is that if you miss clear chances and you play against another top side, they will probably kill you. As they did,” Herrera told Viaplay.
“I think we did everything to win the game, we created two or three big chances in the first half and we didn’t score. Even after they scored we created two or three chances.”
? .@AnderHerrera: – If you miss clear chances, and you play against another top side – they will probably kill you. As they did.
(@AndyMitten) pic.twitter.com/vzSmzB54cF
— Viaplay Fotball (@ViaplayFotball) August 23, 2020
Herrera says the club’s disappointing defeat will take several days to recover from, whilst admitting the experience of six-time winners Bayern – who became the first side in history to lift the trophy after winning every single game – proved decisive.
“They knew how to win, and we also knew how to lose the game,” said Herrera.
“When you lose, you are f***ed for a couple of days, but when you lose the way we lost, you can take a lot of things to make you stronger.”
Herrera also discussed playing in a Champions League final without the presence of supporters, insisting that ‘football without fans is nothing’ following a ‘sh*t’ and ‘horrible’ experience of playing such a huge fixture in an empty stadium.
He added: “It’s sh*t, horrible. For me, fans are the key in this sport, they’re the most important thing in football.
“Football without fans is nothing. I hope all the people realise football is for fans. The business had to continue because it’s a big business.
“For people suffering it’s been a good escape for them to watch football.”
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