Wayne Rooney calls out PSG and Bayern for 'elementary school' defending after their 5-4 Champions League semifinal first leg.
The Parc des Princes experienced one of the craziest nights in Champions League history on Tuesday night. PSG, carried by a brace from Ousmane Dembele, another from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and a goal from Joao Neves, beat Bayern Munich in the first leg of the semifinal.
The Bavarians responded through Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano, and Luis Diaz. A total spectacle, a delight for neutrals. But on the Amazon Prime set, a great figure of world soccer watched it with a very different eye.
That figure is Wayne Rooney. The former Manchester United and England legend did not mince his words: "Both teams have so much quality up front that they probably forget to defend a bit. When PSG leads 5-2, Luis Enrique should have said: close up the game, make life hard for the opponent. But no, they went looking for more goals. Some goals are elementary school goals. At this level, we saw brilliance, but also immature defending, which is crazy."
Clarence Seedorf added, "You can't win the Champions League without knowing how to defend. The clean sheet was sacred."
Rooney also delivered a sharp tactical analysis on the outcome of the two-legged tie: despite the loss, Bayern leaves Paris only one goal behind, after scoring four goals in a stadium known to be difficult. For the former English striker, the psychological advantage is on the Munich side before the return leg at the Allianz Arena.
"I would be much happier if Bayern were going into that second match. Knowing you can score against PSG, that's an advantage."
The debate opened by Rooney and Seedorf sums up the tension between spectacle and efficiency at the highest level. Arsenal, cited by the Dutchman as a counterexample for its ability to defend and keep clean sheets, will face Atletico Madrid on the other side of the bracket. A style at the opposite end of the spectrum from this PSG-Bayern.
Luis Enrique, for his part, broke Guardiola's record by reaching 50 Champions League wins in the fewest matches possible. But in the final, it may be defense that makes the difference.
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