One day after being nominated for the 2022 FIFPRO World 11, Alphonso Davies came off the bench and provided a dime for Kingsley Coman in Bayern Munich's 1-0 away victory over PSG in their Champions League last-16 first leg at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday night.
Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann elected to start João Cancelo at left wing-back over Davies, and while the visitors controlled the opening 45 with the ball almost strictly in PSG's half, there wasn't enough penetration to trouble Gianluigi Donnarumma and the central pairing of Sergio Ramos and Marquinhos.
Davies was a potential solution, and to Nagelsmann's credit he immediately turned to the Canadian at halftime despite Bayern's superiority.
Eight minutes into the second half, Davies took possession out wide and pinged a driven cross (almost the length of a cross-field switch) that curled straight onto Kingsley Coman's right foot.
The wingback-to-wingback connection was rapid with Coman taking the chance on the volley, and Donnarumma played his part by letting the shot go through him.
The Parisian Kingsley Coman haunts his former club.
Gianluigi Donnarumma will not want to see that again. pic.twitter.com/OFXG91MufH— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 14, 2023
PSG's fortune also swung with a substitution: the injured Kylian Mbappé soldiered on in the 57th-minute and had two goals disallowed for offside during a late flurry of action for the home side.
VAR denies Kylian Mbappe and PSG. pic.twitter.com/e1jNVrxjpI
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) February 14, 2023
But Bayern held on for the 1-0 result and Davies took home the biggest prize of all.
Alphonso Davies has finally got Messi's shirt ♥️ pic.twitter.com/Hpbn5p5kpQ
— Stop That Messi (@stopthatmessiii) February 14, 2023
Davies had previously asked for Messi's shirt during Bayern's 8-2 win over Barcelona but got denied.
PSG just needs to rest Mbappé from now until the second leg in Munich on March 8.
