Max Eberl's remark verges on madness-yet it captures everything about FC Bayern

In a figurative sense, the players delivered a classic encounter for the ages on the Parc des Princes turf. 

5–4! It was the highest-scoring Champions League semi-final in history. The English Sun called it the "match of the century", the Spanish Mundo Deportivo a "footballing masterpiece", and the French Figaro a "football spectacle in a class of its own", "a match that will go down in Champions League history". 

PSG manager Luis Enrique simply stated, "That was the best match I've ever experienced as a manager." Enrique has overseen several high-profile fixtures, including two Champions League final victories; last year his side dismantled Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich.

FC Bayern took an early 1-0 lead, then fell behind, drew level at 2-2, and suddenly found themselves 2-5 down at the start of the second half. "It's quite remarkable to stay calm in that situation and come back," said Joshua Kimmich afterwards. "In recent years, we would have crumbled there." Yet this time the Munich side kept their composure, pulling one back to make it 4–5 and keeping the tie alive ahead of next Wednesday's second leg. 

This season, the club boasts an incredible mental strength and a calm confidence that they can always find the net. Michael Olise, Harry Kane and Luis Diaz now form one of the most dangerous attacking trios in recent football history. Together, they have earned their own acronym: OKD echoes earlier trios such as Barcelona's MSN (Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar) and Real Madrid's BBC (Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo).

In the crucial run-in, OKD are delivering in impressive fashion: just as in the second leg of the quarter-final against Real, all three struck again, taking their combined tally to 100 goals this term. Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Federico Valverde—Real's next-best trio—are second with 69.

Scoring four goals yet still losing is a clear sign of defensive fragility, and Munich's five goals conceded only underline that. Against Real Madrid, the aggregate score over two legs was 6-4; on Saturday, they came back from 0-3 down to beat FSV Mainz 05 4-3. In their last 15 matches, the Bavarians have kept just three clean sheets and shipped at least two goals on seven occasions. 

Under Vincent Kompany, Bayern press high and man-mark aggressively, a system that demands peak fitness and concentration and is ruthlessly exposed at the slightest error, as seen in Paris. Despite their individual quality, the hosts converted five shots on target and an xG of 1.91 into five goals in no time, leaving Manuel Neuer powerless. It was the first time since 2010 that a goalkeeper had conceded five goals in the Champions League knockout stages without making a single save.

Two of those goals came from set pieces, a recurring weakness this season; having the set-piece coach as interim manager did not help. As is well known, Aaron Danks stood in for the suspended Vincent Kompany on the touchline.

So what should be done ahead of the second leg? Should the system perhaps be tweaked a little after all? 

"Why are we here?" asked sporting director Max Eberl, standing in the Prince Park Stadium for the Champions League semi-final against the reigning champions. He answered his own question immediately: "Because that's how we've played football up to now. To suddenly change the whole game now would be completely absurd." He then added the wonderful—though, after a 4-5 defeat, also slightly mad—sentence: "In the second leg, we need to finish off the chances we create up front—and we have plenty, plenty, plenty of them—more cleanly." 

In other words, Bayern's 4-5 defeat was not caused by leaking five goals but by scoring only four (xG: 2.51). Why not six, eight or even ten? PSG manager Enrique revealed that, after the final whistle, he asked his players in the dressing room how many goals they would need in the second leg to progress. "They said: at least three," he reported. 

Regardless of whether Bayern end this campaign with a third treble, a double or just the Bundesliga crown, this side is bound for the club's hall of fame.