Cometh the hour, Coman the man

LISBON • When Hansi Flick took over Bayern Munich last November, German media then claimed the Bavarian giants no longer had a fear factor.

Nine months later, their standing in Europe has never been higher.

Sunday's 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final ensured their second-ever treble, seven years after first achieving the feat.

They also became the first team to lift the trophy with a 100 per cent record, scoring 43 times in 11 matches and leading Flick to praise the "crazy" development of the six-time European Cup winners.

"I am proud of the team. When I saw the headlines in November, all I read was that nobody is afraid of Bayern any more," said the 2014 World Cup-winning assistant who is in his first job as a head coach.

"We deserved to win, because of the second half. You could already see in training at our winter camp in January that something big was growing. The team just has this overwhelming will to win."

Bayern are simply not in the business of losing, even when they are not at their steamrolling best.

Flick's team did not show the overwhelming offence that they displayed in their 8-2 crushing of Barcelona in the quarter-finals, nor the dominance of the ball in the 3-0 semi-final win over Lyon.

But once they grabbed the lead against the French champions in the 59th minute through PSG youth team graduate Kingsley Coman, Bayern never looked like letting their grip on the game slip.

Unbeaten this year, a draw in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig in February was the only time they dropped points, and that was before the coronavirus-enforced break in March.

Their victory on Sunday was their 21st in a row and like every great German team, Bayern are a collective force in a manner that PSG, for all their expensive big names, are still trying to become.

The German champions also have Flick, whose magic touch was evident again with the decision to start Coman ahead of Croatia winger Ivan Perisic, who was picked for the previous two games in Lisbon.

The 55-year-old revealed his reasoning behind Coman's selection as he felt the France winger had something to prove against his former side.

"We play against Paris. PSG is the club he was raised in. This might be additional motivation for him," he said.

Astute man-management belies Flick's relative inexperience in the hot seat, and he has forged a team spirit in the dressing room that seemed unlikely after predecessor Niko Kovac was sacked following an underwhelming start to the campaign.

Joshua Kimmich, whose chipped cross was on a plate for Coman's headed winner, likened their bond to a "band of brothers".

"Hansi Flick showed a lot of trust in us from the beginning," said the German international. "We already had a bit of a feeling of being unbeatable. We deserved to win this competition.

"It's impossible to describe what it feels like to stand on the pitch with such a team. It's like playing with brothers, it doesn't get better than that. Even if you make a mistake, someone else makes up for it."

That willingness to give everything for the cause is what sets Bayern apart from their counterparts. And true to ethos, Flick sought to highlight the core strength of his side.

Bayern Munich won all 11 games they played in this season's Champions League, the first team with a 100 per cent record in winning the competition.

"The team is always in the foreground," he said.

In Paris, angry PSG fans rioted, setting cars ablaze and clashing with police on the Champs-Elysees.

Many shops were vandalised, with French police confirming over 150 people have been arrested. Things were, however, calmer in Munich as supporters celebrated, while keeping social distancing in mind.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS