UEFA Champions League

The Champions League knockout stage is now set after Monday's draw determined matchups for the round of 16.

🚨 #UCL Round of 16 Draw 🚨

Gladbach vs. Man City
Lazio vs. Bayern
Atleti vs. Chelsea
Leipzig vs. Liverpool
Porto vs. Juve
🔥 Barca vs. PSG 🔥
Sevilla vs. Dortmund
Atalanta vs. Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/KR2RVJY7rW

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 14, 2020

The first legs of these ties will take place February 16, 17, 23 and 24, while the second legs are scheduled for March 9, 10, 16 and 17.

Arguably the most notable matchup of the pairings is Barcelona versus Paris Saint-Germain, marking the first time Neymar will take on his former club.

PSG reached the Champions League final last year behind an exciting attack that also features Kylian Mbappe, but the path could be tougher this time around with a matchup against Barca. Meanwhile, Barcelona have been far from invincible this season even with Lionel Messi on the roster. The squad finished second in its group behind Juventus and currently sit just eighth in La Liga.

These clubs battled in the knockout stage in 2017 with Barcelona overcoming a 4-0 deficit from the first leg to advance.

Last season's champions Bayern Munich have been near unstoppable over the past year and continued their domination with five wins and a draw during the group stage. The German club will try to keep it going against Lazio in the round of 16.

Another exciting matchup features the reigning Premier League winners Liverpool against RB Leipzig.

Leipzig had a surprise run to the semifinals last season, beating Tottenham and Atletico Madrid during the knockout stage. The Bundesliga club has remained a thorn in the side of English teams, defeating Manchester United on the final matchday of the group stage to advance out of the tough Group H.

Liverpool are only two years removed from winning the UCL title, but they will not have an easy trip to the quarterfinals.

Juventus will face Porto, which represents a chance for Cristiano Ronaldo to star once again in his home country of Portugal.

Manchester City was the only team besides Bayern to have 16 points during the group stage and will try to keep it going against Borussia Monchengladbach. The final Premier League squad, Chelsea, will have another difficult test against Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid nearly didn't qualify for the knockout stage after a pair of losses, but the Spanish giants will get a chance to keep going against the high-scoring Atalanta.

Borussia Dortmund will hope to make a deep run after sacking coach Lucien Favre over the weekend, with Sevilla representing the next UCL challenge for the club.

Players from both Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir, along with match officials, took a knee and some raised a fist before the continuation of their Champions League matchup on Wednesday. 

PSG and İstanbul Başakşehir make a powerful statement ahead of kick-off. pic.twitter.com/Qy9297PSR5

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 9, 2020

The game, which was started on Tuesday, was suspended when both teams walked off the pitch after Basaksehir assistant coach Pierre Webo accused the fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, of using racist language toward him. Webo was then sent off by referee Ovidiu Hategan in the aftermath of the allegation.

⏱️ 14' | #PSGIBFK

🔴 RED CARD| Our assistant coach, Pierre Webo has been sent off with a 'racist' word by the 4th official ref. of the match. Match has stopped for a while.

— Istanbul Basaksehir ENG (@ibfk2014En) December 8, 2020

"Following an alleged incident involving the fourth official, the match was temporarily suspended," UEFA said in a statement Tuesday. "After consultation with both teams, it was agreed that the match would restart with a different fourth official. UEFA will thoroughly investigate the matter and further communication will be made in due course."

SAY NO TO RACISM. ❌❌❌

M.WEBO WE ARE WITH YOU. ✊🏽

— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) December 8, 2020

Per the Associated Press (via ESPN), Coltescu was overheard saying in Romanian, "The Black one over there. Go and check who he is. The Black one over there, it's not possible to act like that."

"Why, when you mention a Black guy, do you have to say this Black guy?" Basaksehir striker Demba Ba, who was on the bench, asked Hategan more than once. 

Footage also showed PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe saying: "Is he serious? We are heading in. We're heading in. That's it, we're heading in."

The match was scoreless in the 14th minute when it was suspended. PSG has already clinched a spot in the knockout rounds after RB Leipzig defeated Manchester United 3-2 on Tuesday.

For years, one of the biggest debates in world soccer centered around whether Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi was the better player.

Following Juventus' 3-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League, Ronaldo downplayed any competitive rivalry with Messi on the pitch, per ESPN FC's Samuel Marsden: 

"I have always had a cordial relationship with Messi. As I have said before, for 12, 13, 14 years [I have been] sharing prizes with him.

"I never saw him as a rival. He always tried the best for his team and I tried the best for mine. I always got on well with him. I am sure he will say the same if you ask him.

"But we know in football people always look for a rivalry to create more excitement."

Regardless of what Ronaldo says, he and Messi have been inextricably linked for more than a decade.

Ronaldo finished runner-up to Kaka in the 2007 Ballon d'Or voting, with Messi coming in third. The Portuguese star earned his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 as Messi placed second. One or the other has lifted the trophy in 11 of the past 12 years.

Ronaldo and Messi were also on opposite sides for one of the sport's biggest derbies for a period of nine seasons while the former starred for Real Madrid. Barcelona claimed six La Liga titles to two for Madrid during that stretch, but Los Blancos had a slight edge in the Champions League, winning the competition four times to Barca's two.

Their joint involvement in El Clasico only added to the Ronaldo/Messi dynamic.

Time waits for no man, even when that man is a legendary athlete.

Tuesday's fixture carried an added level of meaning because it might be the last time Ronaldo and Messi cross paths in a meaningful match. The former turns 36 in February, while latter is 33 and might wind up playing elsewhere in 2021-22 after he was unable to secure a transfer from Barcelona earlier this year.

Clearly there will be a time when Ronaldo and Messi are no longer two of the best players in the world, but it will feel odd nonetheless when that's no longer the case.

A Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir was suspended Tuesday after both teams walked off the pitch after alleged racial abuse by an official:

PSG vs Istanbul Basaksehir has been suspended following an alleged racist incident involving the 4th official towards Istanbul's assistant manager. pic.twitter.com/mLIkZiPK7u

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2020

Basaksehir assistant Pierre Webo was sent off with a red card in the first half of the match, but the club allege that the fourth official used a racist word in the process, via BBC Sport. 

The club's official account posted this message following the incident:

✊🏻✊🏿 NO TO RACISM | #Respect pic.twitter.com/Ic1BzfANoi

— RAMS Başakşehir (@ibfk2014) December 8, 2020

Istanbul Basaksehir left the field first and PSG followed, causing a suspension of play with the match tied 0-0 in the 14th minute. Per football writer Matt Spiro, the match was set to resume at 4 p.m. ET, however, not all players returned.

The match is now set to resume on Wednesday:

CONFIRMED: PSG - Istanbul will be played tomorrow at 12:55pm ET and restarted from the 14th minute. pic.twitter.com/ziMdHnJkmu

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 8, 2020

Basaksehir forward Demba Ba discussed the situation with the officials, per Get French Football News, saying that officials never refer to white players as "this white guy" but do say "this Black guy" when mentioning Black players. Ba was among those who led the players into the dressing room.

Center back Presnel Kimpembe and striker Kylian Mbappe were among the PSG players who made the decision for the team to follow Basaksehir's lead and leave the pitch, per Get French Football News.

The match is an important one for the Champions League Group H standings.

Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and RB Leipzig all entered the final matchday tied for first place with nine points. PSG needed at least a draw to clinch its spot in the knockout stage.

Istanbul Basaksehir will finish in fourth place in the group regardless of Tuesday's results with just three points in the first five matches.

The two best men's soccer players in the world will square off on Tuesday for the first time since Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Juventus. 

Ronaldo and the Italian side head to the Camp Nou to face Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona on the final matchday in UEFA Champions League Group G.

Barcelona sits atop the section with 15 points after a perfect run through the first five games. The Spanish side beat Juventus, 2-0, on October 28.

Juventus has been perfect in every other game to secure its position in the round of 16. The Serie A champions need a win and to make up seven goals in goal differential to top the group.

             

Juventus vs. Barcelona Information

Date: Tuesday, December 8

Start Time: 3 p.m. ET 

Live Stream: CBS All Access

Odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook): Barcelona (+110; bet $100 to win $110): Juventus (+220); Draw (+280)

         

Preview

Messi and Ronaldo did not go head-to-head in the first group-stage meeting due to the former Real Madrid star's positive COVID-19 test.

Messi netted a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time to secure the 2-0 victory in Turin, Italy. That win is the difference between the two clubs in the Group G standings. 

Barcelona owns a plus-14 goal differential to go along with its 15 points. A win or draw secures first place for the La Liga side as does a loss by a small margin.

Outside of the Champions League, Barca has been in shaky form. It suffered a shocking loss to Cadiz over the weekend in league play and resides in ninth place in the La Liga table. 

Barcelona owns five wins in its last seven matches. The two losses in that span have come in low-scoring league games. 

In European competition, the Blaugrana have a clean sheet against each of their Group G foes, and they scored at least three times on three occasions. 

Barca will be short-handed in attack for Tuesday's clash, as Ousmane Dembele suffered a hamstring injury in the loss to Cadiz. Ansu Fati was already out with an injury. 

Messi has scored on three occasions in head-to-head Champions League games with Ronaldo. Tuesday marks the sixth time the two superstars will play each other in European club competition.

Since there are restrictions on when teams from the same country can play each other in the Champions League, Messi and Ronaldo played each other twice on the continental stage while Ronaldo was at Real Madrid. 

The Portugal international's lone head-to-head UCL win over Messi came in 2008, when Manchester United defeated Barcelona in the knockout round.

Juventus comes into the Camp Nou in the better overall form since it has not lost in the eight games since its home defeat to Barcelona.

Ronaldo leads the Serie A side with 10 goals in all competitions. Alvaro Morata, who has scored nine times in the 2020-21 season, may be the key to victory if he combines well with the Portuguese star. 

Messi owns seven goals and two assists across all competitions and could receive attacking support from Antoine Griezmann, who is working into form with five strikes. 

Barca is favored solely on its UCL form, but there is a chance its defense fails to contain the Ronaldo-Morata partnership. 

Juventus is in the overall better form and should be motivated by trying to steal first place in the standings away from Barca. The top spot is so valuable because it allows the group winner to avoid the seven other first-place sides in the round-of-16 draw. 

        

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from FBRef.com.

    

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Paris Saint-Germain dramatically improved their chances of advancing to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday. 

Goals from Neymar (two) and Marquinhos spurred the visiting Parisians to victory. Marcus Rashford scored the lone goal for United.

Three teams (United, PSG and Leipzig) now sit on nine points in Group H heading into the final matchday, though the Premier League side is atop this Group of Death because of superior goal differential and can guarantee advancement with a draw or victory against Leipzig on Tuesday. PSG likewise will guarantee a place in the round of 16 with a draw or victory against Istanbul Basaksehir.

Neymar opened the scoring in the sixth minute, as a deflection fell to him at a tight angle to the right of the goal. No matter. Neymar was clinical, giving PSG an early lead.

Marcus Rashford had the answer in the 32nd minute, however, getting a lucky deflection on his shot to draw the match even.

PSG can't catch a break, Marcus Rashford shows up again. pic.twitter.com/rFV3gdvdJp

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 2, 2020

Marquinhos would give PSG a lead they wouldn't relinquish in the 69th minute, after a scramble in front of goal led to an easy tap-in. Edinson Cavani did poorly to keep Marquinhos onside. 

Captain fantastic, Marquinhos steps up! pic.twitter.com/Gu2Jewreai

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 2, 2020

Thirty seconds later, Fred was sent off after receiving his second yellow, making United's comeback hopes all the more unlikely. Granted, it was questionable if Fred should have even been on the pitch after he got away with a headbutt in the first half that should have been a straight red.

It was just as questionable why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left Fred in the game after his chippy opening 45. 

https://twitter.com/RobHarris/status/1334248188581195783

https://twitter.com/lmechegaray/status/1334248260882608134

Should be hugely frustrating for United, as thought they were better side for more of the game when both had 11 v 11. PSG just such a bitty team for one with such stars.

— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) December 2, 2020

Regardless, a shorthanded United were vulnerable on the counter and PSG hurt them, with Rafinha's peelback in the box to Neymar in stoppage time sealing the victory. 

Neymar puts icing on the cake 💫 pic.twitter.com/QHFseqyWal

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 2, 2020

It was a harsh result for United, who created good chances throughout the contest but weren't clinical enough on those opportunities. 

Anthony Martial 🥴 pic.twitter.com/Yq8nD7qFwU

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 2, 2020

Cavani almost bit the hand that fed him 😳 pic.twitter.com/kcPqqSOdap

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 2, 2020

Bad night in the end for MUFC. Bad result in Istanbul, bad start v PSG, bad of Fred and big risk to keep him on by OGS. MU didn't take chances. Neymar the star. Engrossing game. MU need a result in Leipzig next week. Ratings to follow.

— Andy Mitten (@AndyMitten) December 2, 2020

PSG will take the win, however unconvincing it might have been. The duo of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe make them one of the most frightening clubs in this competition, even if United exposed the back line and probably should have had more than the one goal. 

That leaves PSG in an excellent position to advance, and United facing a dangerous Leipzig side with their UCL campaign on the line.

It wasn't the Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi matchup many wanted, but fans were still treated to an exciting Champions League matchup Wednesday as Barcelona earned a 2-0 win over Juventus.

Ronaldo was unavailable for the match after testing positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 13 and not being cleared following his most recent test. Key players like Philippe Coutinho, Gerard Pique and Giorgio Chiellini were also out for a variety of reasons, limiting some hype for the high-profile battle.

Messi still came through for Barcelona with a goal and an assist while Ousmane Dembele registered the match's only other goal.

The Spanish club now sits on top of Group G with six points in two matches while Juventus are stuck on three points.

It was a close match based on the final tally, although Barcelona had more of the ball with 59 percent of possession, via ESPNFC.

Dembele got onto the scoresheet for the second straight UCL match with this shot in the 14th minute:

MESSI ➡️ DEMBELE 😤 pic.twitter.com/GLegaGMQnJ

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 28, 2020

Messi had the long switch to set up Dembele, who put the ball on net thanks to a fortunate deflection.

The 33-year-old then scored himself on a penalty in the 91st minute.

Unstoppable 😤

Messi doubles it for @FCBarcelona from the penalty spot. pic.twitter.com/lDkIOpqC4r

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 28, 2020

Both goals required some luck, but they were earned from Barcelona after dominating the action with several quality chances from the start of the match:

¡Ceeeeeerca el Barcelona en múltiples ocasiones! 😱

Los culés salieron con todo y se quedaron a nada de abrir el marcador. 🔥@juventusfces 0-0 @FCBarcelona_es #UCL | #Juventus | #Barcelona

🔴 En vivo
📺 TUDN
📲 Síguelo aquí 👉 https://t.co/ivYrOXjXWP pic.twitter.com/Lk1OaiGskz

— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) October 28, 2020

What a start for Barca!! Energy!!

— Oma Akatugba (@omaakatugba) October 28, 2020

Griezmann hit the post twice while the team had all four shots on goal.

Barca outshot its opponent 7-2 in the first half and controlled the ball for the majority of the match.

Messi was also unsurprisingly the best player on the pitch:

🔓 Key passes in the first half of Juventus 0⃣-1⃣ Barcelona

Lionel Messi - 3⃣

Juventus - 1⃣ pic.twitter.com/2FWqGjMNTq

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) October 28, 2020

Fantastic high pace first half between Juventus and Barcelona.
The latter are showing off their great play making when possessing ball up front, but Juve was electric to react.
It will be hard though for Juve to keep this pace, as midfield just doesn’t exist.
Messi shining

— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) October 28, 2020

Messi’s performance has been unbelievable 👏🏻 🐐

— AJ Cochran (@Alec_Cochran) October 28, 2020

messi should have about 4 assists in this game.

— Andrew Carleton (@andrewcarleton7) October 28, 2020

The superstar was just wide on several shots throughout the match but was extremely active in the final third.

Juventus struggled to keep up and had few quality chances on the other end.

Alvaro Morata appeared to have three different equalizers but all of them were called back:

Gol de la Juventus... ¡Pero anulado por fuera de lugar! ❌

Morata estaba en posición adelantada al momento del pase. 😱@juventusfces 0-1 @FCBarcelona_es #UCL | #Juventus | #Barcelona

🔴 En vivo
📺 TUDN
📲 Síguelo aquí 👉 https://t.co/ivYrOXByOn pic.twitter.com/F90UanyZ8T

— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) October 28, 2020

UNBELIEVABLE! A hat-trick of offside goals for Morata! 🤯

This time the goal was given, only to be ruled out after a VAR review 🎥#UCL #JuveBarca pic.twitter.com/4jt5OE5Pq2

— GOAL (@goal) October 28, 2020

Morata has put the goal in the back of the net three times against Barcelona:

Offside ❌
Offside ❌
Offside ❌ pic.twitter.com/4SSB7LbVid

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 28, 2020

They became increasingly deflating for a club that simply couldn't break through.

Things got even worse for Juve in the 85th minute when Merih Demiral was sent off for his second yellow card.

The Italian club couldn't defend well down to 10 men, eventually conceding a penalty when Ansu Fati was fouled in the box. Messi finished with a goal from the spot that sealed the win for the visitors.

Both clubs will return to league play over the weekend trying to bounce back from disappointing performances in their last matches.

Barcelona suffered a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in El Classico but will now face Deportivo Alaves in a La Liga match Saturday. Juventus had a draw against Verona in the last Serie A match and will now face Spezia on Sunday.

The two clubs will return to UCL action on Nov. 4 when Juventus host Ferencvaros and Barcelona travels to Dynamo Kyiv.

On Tuesday, Barcelona saw president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the rest of the club's board step down ahead of a vote of confidence from club members. On Wednesday, they'll face one of Europe's best sides, Juventus, in the UEFA Champions League. 

Just a week in the life of the Catalan giants. 

Below, we'll break down the schedule, betting lines and other key information as Barcelona's players attempt to leave the drama off the field and pick up three points at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, in a key Group G matchup. 

                 

When: Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. ET

Watch: CBS All Access

Line: Juventus (+195, bet $100 to win $195), draw (+250), Barcelona (+135), per DraftKings

                    

Preview

Both teams will be fighting for the top spot in the group after Juventus opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kyiv and Barcelona smoked Ferencvaros, 5-1. 

The Serie A side will have to do so without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, however, after he was ruled out because Juventus did not submit a negative COVID-19 test to UEFA 24 hours prior to the match. Ronaldo tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 13. 

It's a major disappointment for Juventus and football fans alike, as Ronaldo and Lionel Messi haven't faced one another since 2018, when Ronaldo played for Real Madrid. A clash between two of the greatest goal scorers in history is always worth watching. We'll have to wait until Dec. 8, when the two sides meet again at Camp Nou. 

That will put a major onus on players like Alvaro Morata—who scored both goals against Dynamo Kyiv—and Paulo Dybala to find the net for Juventus. The team's defense will also have to contain a legend like Messi and his impressive 17-year-old teammate Ansu Fati. 

Fati was also the lone goal scorer for Barca in their 3-1 Clasico defeat on Saturday and is quickly making his mark on the club. He's a man to watch against Juventus. 

As for the form the two sides bring into the match, neither club is exactly crushing it domestically. Juventus finds themselves in fifth place in Serie A after taking nine points from five matches. With both AC Milan (13 points) and Inter (10) looking dangerous and Napoli (11 points) playing well, defending a nine-year title streak won't be easy for Juventus.

Barcelona, meanwhile, find themselves 12th in La Liga after securing just seven points from five matches, including two losses and a draw in their last three games. 

With four more games to follow for both teams in Group G play, Wednesday's result isn't life or death, especially since both clubs are the heavy favorites to advance to the knockout stage. But a win would leave the victor atop the group, giving them a leg up in the quest to finish first. 

                    

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The 2020-21 UEFA Champions League draw was held Thursday, with reigning champions Bayern Munich drawn in Group A alongside Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Group G will showcase the latest chapter in the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, as Juventus and Barcelona were drawn together in a pool also featuring Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros.

Here's a look at the complete draw:

The official result of the #UCLdraw! 🤩

Most exciting group stage match? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/d7ynuEjPq3

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 1, 2020

Play in the group stage is scheduled to kick off Oct. 20:

• Matchday 1: Oct. 20-21
• Matchday 2: Oct. 27-28
• Matchday 3: Nov. 3-4
• Matchday 4: Nov. 24-25
• Matchday 5: Dec. 1-2
• Matchday 6: Dec. 8-9

The draw for the round of 16 will be held Dec. 14 in Nyon, Switzerland.

There were rumors earlier in the summer linking Messi with a blockbuster move to Juve, which would have brought the sport's two biggest superstars of a generation together in the same attack. The Barca legend ultimately stayed with the Spanish club, however.

It will mark the first time since Ronaldo joined Juventus two years ago that the pair have played against one another. They last faced off in May 2018, when Ronaldo's Real Madrid drew 2-2 with Messi's Barcelona in La Liga and both players scored. 

WE GET TWO MATCHES OF RONALDO VS. MESSI IN THE #UCL GROUP STAGES 🍿 pic.twitter.com/WwgdTKE7Wg

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 1, 2020

Meanwhile, Manchester United and 2020 UCL finalists Paris Saint-Germain were also drawn into the same group. They'll meet for the first time since their memorable encounter in the round of 16 in 2019, in which PSG took a 2-0 lead in the first leg only for United to win 3-1 in Paris in the second. Marcus Rashford's penalty in the 94th minute sealed a dramatic aggregate win on away goals and a spot in the quarterfinals.  

PSG vs. Manchester United in the Champions League.

Again. pic.twitter.com/fiwrpLLruX

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 1, 2020

Bayern and Manchester City will head into the tournament as the co-favorites (+450), per Oddschecker. They are followed by Liverpool (+600), PSG (+1000), Real Madrid (+1100), Juventus (+1400) and Barcelona (+1600).

Real Madrid hold the all-time record as owners of 13 UCL titles, with AC Milan (7), Bayern (6), Liverpool (6) and Barca (5) being the other clubs with at least five championships.

Bayern Munich are European champions once again after a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League Final.  

After nearly an hour of scoreless play, Kingsley Coman came through for the Bundesliga champs with the go-ahead header in the 59th minute:

Bayern breaks the deadlock!

The Parisian, Kingsley Coman heads in the goal against his youth club pic.twitter.com/1Kejqy68GM

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 23, 2020

Neymar and the PSG attack had several chances at an equalizer but were unable to get onto the scoresheet.

There were no fans at the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Portugal due to the coronavirus pandemic, which had caused the entire tournament to be delayed and reformatted with single-legged rounds. It didn't seem to matter to Bayern Munich, who completed a dominant run through the event to earn its sixth title and first since 2013. 

They also join Barcelona as the only team to win the treble twice.

Bayern had appeared invincible for much of the 2019-20 season, and especially in Champions League play. The club won all six group-stage matches and cruised through the knockout stage with one-sided victories over Chelsea, Barcelona and Lyon, outscoring the three teams 18-3.

Paris Saint-Germain narrowly advanced with close wins over Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta before earning a 3-0 win over RB Leipzig in the semifinals.

The championship would still be decided on the pitch with both sides entering with loads of talent.

The attacking ability was on display in the first half even though there were no goals, with Robert Lewandowski having several close chances:

POST!

Lewandowski beats Navas but not the woodwork and we remain level. pic.twitter.com/P9B7b26JQc

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 23, 2020

SAVE by Navas! Lewandowski denied again.

The goalkeepers have come to play today... pic.twitter.com/PlEAwoTG7e

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 23, 2020

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe each had their opportunities as well:

The first true chance for PSG comes from a sprinting Neymar who is denied by the heel of Neuer. pic.twitter.com/zt9veqYAep

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 23, 2020

A massive opportunity squandered by Mbappe, who strikes it right at Neuer. pic.twitter.com/2iv9hpd60o

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 23, 2020

Perhaps the biggest story of the first half was a no-call just before intermission, with Bayern potentially deserving a penalty:

You be the judge...

Was that a penalty for Bayern right before half? pic.twitter.com/2OM2Yg43Yw

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 23, 2020

https://twitter.com/stuholden/status/1297621880233291777

I don’t have a problem with that not being a penalty.

— Raphael Honigstein💙 (@honigstein) August 23, 2020

The play was ruled clean, and the teams went into the dressing rooms tied at 0-0.

In the second half, it appeared PSG would be the team to finally break the scoreless draw with several good chances in the final third. However, Bayern Munich finally found the back of the net in the 59th minute.

Joshua Kimmich set up a perfect cross to the back post, where Kingsley Coman was there to head it in:

https://twitter.com/lmechegaray/status/1297629072135204865

Great header from Coman, and Kimmich is an absolute dream of a footballer

— Liam Twomey (@liam_twomey) August 23, 2020

https://twitter.com/stuholden/status/1297630187249524736

Bayern kept the pressure on after the goal, preventing the French opponent from many chances. 

When Paris Saint-Germain did get shots on net, Manuel Neuer was there for some big-time saves.

With just 38 percent possession in the match, the scoring opportunities were limited for PSG, and they were unable to break through with a goal. 

It will be a short turnaround for each club before starting their respective 2020-21 league seasons, but Bayern Munich will get a chance to celebrate an impressive accomplishment to complete the 2019-20 campaign.