Harry Kane described the defending in Bayern Munich’s 5-4 Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat at PSG as “amazing” — a view disputed by Wayne Rooney.
The nine-goal thriller was the first European semi-final in which both teams scored four or more goals. Kane, who opened the scoring from the penalty spot, told Amazon Prime at full-time: “Even though there was nine goals scored, there was some amazing defending out there. You’ve got the best players in the world. The best attackers, the best defenders. Of course, sometimes the attackers are going to come out on top and show their quality. When you go back and look at the centre-halves playing in midfield, in attack sometimes, out wide against the wingers, credit to them. It’s a really hard job. I thought they were outstanding.”
Bayern boss Vincent Kompany questioned anyone unhappy with the goals and agreed with Kane that the defending was “good.” Rooney, though, told Amazon Prime: “I love Harry Kane. Everyone can see that on the words I say about him. But, there’s no way he can be praising his defenders. Maybe because they are his team-mates. He’s trying to give them a bit of confidence for next week. The defending from both teams was really bad, if he’s being honest. Both teams have so much quality at the top end of the pitch that they probably forgot to defend. That means we get to enjoy some great goals.”
Rooney added: “What the better players do is find a way through. When you’re playing against top attackers, you need to adapt. You don’t hear defenders communicating anymore. You used to hear Jamie Carragher screaming at his defenders for Liverpool. It used to annoy me, but it got his full-backs back in. You don’t get that level of communication now. That’s as a result of the coaching.” He called the game “crazy and chaotic” and suggested PSG might have sat deeper when leading 5-2 rather than pushing for more, saying: “Luis Enrique is a top coach so when they get the advantage of 5-2, I think he should have said ‘let’s shut up shop and get behind the ball’. But they went for more goals and Vincent Kompany has got a very attack-minded [Bayern] team. We saw some immature defending, which is crazy.”
CL epic at a glance:
– 17: Kane scores from the spot
– 24: Kvaratskhelia levels for PSG with a stunner
– 33: Joao Neves heads PSG in front from a corner
– 41: Olise smashes in Bayern equaliser
– 45+5: Dembélé penalty restores PSG’s lead
– 56: Kvaratskhelia nets his second
– 58: Dembélé makes it three with a lovely strike
– 65: Upamecano pulls one back with a glancing header
– 68: Díaz gives Bayern hope — goal awarded after VAR overturn for offside
Luis Enrique gave an honest take: “We won the match, of course, we are happy, very happy. But after being 5-2 up you think you can have a better result. I think we deserved to win the match, but we also deserved to draw and we even deserved to lose.”
Jamie Carragher praised the attacking play on CBS Sports, saying: “Normally when I see a game like that I’ll say ‘the defending is not good enough’ or ‘it is not up to the standard of this level of football’. But what I would say is: Every attacking player on the pitch was an eight or nine out of 10. Every attacking player got the better of their counterpart. When I remember the goals, it wasn’t like there was a goalkeeper howler or something stupid defensively, it felt like the goals were just great goals. It wasn’t like defenders made a fool of themselves. The attacking play was that high it was almost impossible to stop the goals.”
Thierry Henry, also on CBS Sports, said the risks taken were rewarded: “We’ve been talking a lot about teams who don’t take enough risks. We talk about teams not losing the game rather than winning it. Tonight we had plenty of risk. If we have our defensive hats on you might go crazy with what you saw tonight. But I don’t care. People have been complaining football is boring. That game was not boring. It was just crazy at times.”
Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop highlighted the spectacle and free-flowing football on display, calling it “poetry in motion” and a reminder of why fans fall in love with the game. He compared moments in the match to classic Champions League memories and argued such spectacles should be celebrated even if they frustrate goalkeepers and defenders. “This is the beautiful game summed up in its purist form across 90 minutes. And we still have at least another 90 to go in this tie.”
Fans shared their reactions on Sky Sports:
– Mark: “This is how football should be played, fast, entertaining, end to end. This was a throwback to yesteryear and nothing like modern boring football.”
– Scott B: “Feel sorry for anyone who missed that game. Great day to be a neutral, that’s what football is about!”
– Joe: “Not only was that the greatest Champions League semi-final ever, but I’ve been watching football for many, many years and I think that’s one of the best games ever.”
– Andrew: “There are levels to this game. This game has proven to all English clubs that they’ve got some catching up to do. That was sensational.”
– Mikey: “I am an Arsenal fan, but whoever goes through from our tie has no hope in the final!”