Big Six

Lisbon, August 24

Bayern Munich were crowned European champions for the sixth time after beating Paris St Germain 1-0 thanks to a second-half header from former PSG youth academy graduate Kingsley Coman in an absorbing Champions League final yesterday.

France international Coman appeared at the back post to head the decisive goal in the 59th minute as Bayern became the first team to lift the Champions League with a 100% record. Coach Hansi Flick opted to start with Coman instead of Croatian Ivan Perisic on the left flank and it was an inspired decision. After a well worked move down the right Joshua Kimmich picked out Coman at the back post and he got behind Thilo Kehrer to head firmly into the bottom corner.

There were no fans to witness the triumph but Bayern celebrated as though 80,000 were cheering and, even as the lights went out nearly two hours after the final whistle, three players still sat in the centre circle, savouring the moment. The victory at the Estadio da Luz, deserved after a dogged display once Bayern got in front, secured a second treble for the Germans, the Bundesliga and German Cup winners, and completed a remarkable first season for Flick.

Flick took over a struggling side in November, after a 5-1 hammering by Eintracht Frankfurt led to the sacking of Niko Kovac with the club fourth in the Bundesliga.

“It feels fantastic, we have a long journey behind us,” said Bayern midfielder Thomas Mueller. “We came from very low, at least that is what it felt like, in the autumn and put in a sensational run. We had a bit of luck tonight and had (Manuel) Neuer in goal,” he added. — Reuters

6th Champions League title for Bayern. Only Real Madrid (12) and AC Milan (7) have more titles

100 percent— Bayern’s record in the Champions League this season. Bayern became the first team to win all their games in a season

It feels fantastic, we have a long journey behind us. We came from very low, at least that is what it felt like, in the autumn and put in a sensational run. —Thomas Mueller, Bayern player

In football, you have to accept that in a match luck can play a big role. We had chances and didn’t score them. —Thomas Tuchel, PSG coach

15Goals for Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski in the Champions League this season. He became only the second player, after Cristiano Ronaldo, to touch the mark. Ronaldo holds the record with 17 goals. Lewandowski has also climbed to fourth in the list of all-time top-scorers with 68 goals

21Wins Bayern have registered in a row in all competitions. They are on a 30-game unbeaten run

2nd German coach to win the treble — Hansi Flick. The former assistant coach of Germany did it in his first season as head coach of a Bundesliga club