It’s another season and another Uefa Champions League heartbreak for French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) after they were dumped out of Europe’s elite club competition by German giants Bayern Munich.

A 2-0 loss in Munich on Wednesday night subjected the Parisians to a 3-0 aggregate defeat to see them exit the competition at this stage for the fifth time in seven seasons.

As in the first leg in Paris three weeks ago, a former player for the French champions returned to haunt them. Bayern went into the fixture with a slender 1-0 cushion, thanks to a strike by former PSG youth product Kingsley Coman.  

After fluffing a flurry of opportunities to level matters in the first half, PSG’s profligacy was punished when Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, who previously played for the Parisians, netted in the 61st minute at the Allianz Arena. A late second goal from Serge Gnabry sealed the win for the Bavarians.

Matthijs de Ligt of Bayern competes for the ball with Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain. (Photo: Pedro Salado / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images)

“It’s a big disappointment. We have to deal with it and accept it. There’s a lot of disappointment in the dressing room,” said PSG mentor Christophe Galtier.

“I don’t know if it’s a lesson to be learnt, but there’s a lot of frustration. If we’d scored first, it would have been different, but we didn’t.”

It’s another glaring failure from a club that possesses two of the most expensive players in history – Kylian Mbappé and Brazil’s Neymar. They also boast the legendary left foot of World Cup winner Lionel Messi, plus the likes of highly rated midfield pivot Marco Verratti, as well as Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi.

Despite all this talent, the joint-record French league winners will have to wait for yet another season to have a crack at clinching the prized Champions League crown.

Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain watches as a pitch invader is tackled by stewards after the team’s defeat to Bayern München. (Photo: Alex Grimm / Getty Images)

So far, in spite of the money that has been pumped into the club by its current Qatari owners, European glory has proved beyond reach. The closest PSG have come to winning the Champions League was in the 2019/20 campaign, when they reached the final. They were beaten 1-0 by the same Bayern in Lisbon.

That the club appears to be cruising to an 11th domestic league will do little to soothe this latest disappointment.

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When the new owners arrived in 2011, the Paris-based club had won just two French league titles since its formation in 1970. Since the Qatari cohort began pumping millions of euros into the team, it has taken its league tally to 10 overall.

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With 12 matches left to play in Ligue 1, they are eight points ahead of second-placed Marseille.

If they maintain this advantage until the end of the season, they will make history and become the side with most league championships in the French top-flight. They are currently tied with Marseille and Saint-Étienne as the record champions with that haul of 10.

Mbappé’s ambition

One of the members of the PSG side who will be the most disappointed by the Champions League exit is superstar forward Mbappé. The 24-year-old harbours hopes of one day winning the coveted continental crown, to add to his personal trophy cabinet, as well as stand a great chance of winning the Ballon d’Or.

Kylian Mbappé of PSG in action during their Champions League match against Bayern Munich. (Photo: Jean Catuffe / Getty Images)

However, the 2018 World Cup winner – who also recently became PSG’s all-time top goal scorer – said he is firmly focused on what the team still has to play for domestically.

“We are disappointed. That’s how it is, we have to move on, try to challenge everyone. We didn’t miss much when we look at the state of the two teams, [but] they have a team built to win the Champions League,” Mbappé told journalists after the match.

“At the start of the season, during the first Champions League press conference, I said we were going to do our best and give our maximum. We’re going to question ourselves and go back to our day-to-day life in Ligue 1.”

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Following this latest setback, Mbappé was quizzed on his future once more. After being the subject of interest from record-European champions Real Madrid in 2022, he chose to extend his stay in Paris to 2025.

Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain up against Matthijs de Ligt of Bayern Munich. (Photo: Richard Sellers / Getty Images)

He was once again asked about his future in the aftermath of this latest continental failure.

“No, no, I’m calm. The only thing that matters to me this season is to win Ligue 1 and then we’ll see. At the moment, I’m only talking about this season. Nothing else matters to me.”

That is the diplomatic answer. However, Mbappé knows the importance to his legacy of winning the Champions League. He may have hoped to lead PSG to glory, but he will now surely consider his options in the continued pursuit of this elusive accolade. DM