Bayern crisis deepens with Champions League defeat at Lazio
Ten-man Bayern Munich failed to rebound from a major league loss at the weekend as they were defeated 1-0 by Lazio in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 match-up on Wednesday.
Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, will take the advantage for the second leg with a 2-0 win against Real Sociedad.
Bayern were down to 10 men in the 67th minute as Dayot Upamecano received a red card after he tackled Gustav Isaksen in the box. Lazio were awarded a penalty, which was converted two minutes later by Ciro Immobile.
The German record champions lost 3-0 to Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday and now sit five points adrift.
They were hoping to bounce back from that defeat against Lazio, but failed to have a single shot on target and will need to fight for a comeback at the Allianz Arena in the second leg.
"We did everything to lose this match - it was in our hands. At a certain point we stopped believing," Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel told broadcasters DAZN. "But we still have the second leg."
PSG had a couple of promising chances in the first half, but found their breakthrough in the 58th as Kylian Mbappe claimed his fourth goal in this Champions League season. Bradley Barcola then sealed the win for the French side in the 70th.
On Tuesday, Real Madrid defeated RB Leipzig 1-0, while defending champions Manchester City claimed a 3-1 win at Copenhagen.
Bayern got close to an opener in the 32nd, but Leroy Sané's left-footed strike went centimetres wide. Lazio tried to answer with Isaksen, but his effort in the 38th looped over the crossbar.
The next chance for the German side came after a fine one-two passing carved out a sight of goal for Jamal Musiala, but he fired the ball over the advancing keeper Ivan Provedel and the bar in the 40th.
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made a crucial stop to deny Isaken's low strike in the 48th, but his effort was in vain as the forward was fouled by Upamecano in the 67th.
While the Bayern defender saw a red card, Lazio were awarded a penalty, which was coolly converted by Immobile in the 69th.
A crucial intervention from defender Minjae Kim prevented Lazio from testing Neuer late in the game.
"From my perspective, we produced a reaction [to the Leverkusen loss] in the first half. We should definitely have taken the lead in the first half. When talking about a reaction, I'm not talking about the result, but about our approach," Bayern midfielder Thomas Müller told DAZN.
"We had three clear-cut goalscoring opportunities in the first half and, to have that many chances inside one half of a Champions League away game in Rome, then you have to convert them," he added.
PSG played the first few minutes at a frenetic pace due to Real Sociedad's pressing, but soon found their feet.
But the ball only hit the net in the second half, when Marquinhos nodded Osmane Dembele's corner to Mbappe and the France international forced the ball in at the back post in the 58th.
PSG got their second goal and some breathing room as Barcola slotted the ball into the net to ensure the French side a comfortable advantage going into the second leg.
"We’re happy with the result. We wanted to win at home, that was the objective. Now we have another game to play. Before, we have three in the league. We are happy now, but the job is not done," Mbappe told UEFA.com.
