Germany

Bayern Munich's journey to the Champions League title required “brutal” mental strength and focus during a rollercoaster season that saw a major team overhaul.

Sunday's 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain not only clinched a sixth European crown for Bayern, it also saw them become the first team to win all of their Champions League matches in a season.

THEY’VE DONE IT!

LISBON — The biggest game in club football takes place in the Portuguese capital on Sunday, but walking around the cobbled streets of the city you could be forgiven for being oblivious to the impending Champions League final.

A giant replica of the European Cup at the Rossio square is the only clear sign of the big game that will take place across the city at the Estadio da Luz, between Bayern Munich and Paris-Saint Germain.

French clubs won both Women’s Champions League quarterfinals on Saturday, but it was an Englishwoman who provided the key moment for the defending champions.

Lyon, which scored 25 goals in the last two rounds, struggled to break down Bayern Munich, but a bit of bravery from Nikita Parris provided the breakthrough the UWCL holders needed to pull out a narrow 2-1 victory on Saturday at the San Mamés in Bilbao. 

 They've done it!

LISBON — Bayern Munich's success in reaching the final of the Champions League has been built on a very distinct tactical approach but it is one that carries big risks against Paris Saint-Germain, leaving coach Hansi Flick with a major dilemma.

Bayern play an aggressive pressing game, pinning back their opponents, maintaining pressure on their defence and making it difficult for them to move the ball through the midfield.

Bayern Munich has no time for trifling sympathies. Bayern Munich is going to destroy everyone in its path.

Serge Gnabry scored twice in the first half and Robert Lewandowski provided his obligatory goal in the second as the German giants stifled Lyon 3-0 on Wednesday in Lisbon to advance to the Champions League final. Bayern will play Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday for the completion of an unorthodox but epic 2020 Champions League season.

Tyler Adams was given 27 minutes to rescue RB Leipzig. Brought on by Julian Nagelsmann in the 63rd minute, his side already trailing by three goals, the New Yorker was hoping to make an immediate impact.

His initial contribution, however, was to play horsey-ride with PSG megastar Neymar.

Missing a Borussia Dortmund match in 2020-21 is going to be a form of sacrilege. We already knew, heading into last season, that Jadon Sancho was a pièce de résistance sort of footballer capable of uplifting your weekend. By January, Erling Haaland had proclaimed himself as Paul Bunyan’s only begotten son, increasing the joy of having BVB on your television set.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said radical changes were needed from top to bottom after his side were annihilated 8-2 by Bayern Munich on Friday to exit the Champions League in one of the Catalan side's darkest ever nights.

"We feel devastated, although shame is the real word I'm looking for. We cannot afford to compete like this because it's not the first, the second or the third time that something like this has happened," a tearful Pique told reporters after the quarter-final drubbing, their worst ever result in Europe.

It’s impossible to forget Germany’s epic six-goal beatdown of Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. But for those who missed it, the first half of the Barcelona-Bayern Munich Champions League quarterfinal on Friday was a pretty good reenactment.

Bayern Munich relentlessly breached Barcelona’s vulnerable defense en route to a 4-1 halftime lead in Lisbon, stunning a Blaugrana side not used to facing such an onslaught.