PSG vs Bayern Munich epic exposed exactly what the Premier League is missing

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Jermaine Pennant’s heart was in the right place when he took to social media immediately after the epic match at Parc des Princes. Having had a spell at Anfield, Pennant still wants the club to do well.

“Liverpool go out and get Olise right now, at all costs. There is your replacement for Mo Salah. AT ALL COSTS. Any amount plus Gakpo.”

Needless to say, Pennant’s suggestion that Liverpool - currently the fourth best team in the Premier League - might tempt Michael Olise to Anfield was not taken overly seriously, to say the least. The irony, though, is that Pennant could have replaced Olise’s name with that of Luis Diaz, not long ago a Liverpool favourite.

Against Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi, Olise and Diaz faced two of the best full-backs in the world - and even in a 5-4 defeat, they gave them a torrid time. It is a major over-simplification to use the magic in Paris to highlight how boring the Premier League has been this season.

It is too easy to use one of the most entertaining football matches you are ever likely to see as a stick with which to beat the quality of English club football. There is a short-term reason why PSG and Bayern Munich could perform as they did on Tuesday night. They were well-rested.

And there is a long-term reason. They can express themselves in every game of the season because their squads are so dominant.

Bayern have won the Bundesliga in 16 of the past 20 seasons, PSG have won Ligue 1 in 11 of the past 13 seasons. These are teams that can be gung-ho every week. Bayern have scored 113 goals in 31 Bundesliga games, for goodness sake.

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These are teams that, pretty much, know no other way of playing. Should Arsenal make it to the Champions League final, they will present a different type of challenge for PSG or Bayern Munich, whom they beat convincingly in their most recent meeting.

But what the Champions League masterpiece did highlight was the dearth of risk-takers in the Premier League. We were startled by the manner in which so many players wanted to take each other on in Paris. Diaz, Olise, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, not to mention both teams’ attacking full-backs.

For all its competitiveness, that type of approach is largely absent from the Premier League. There are exceptions. Jeremy Doku, for example, is growing in confidence at Manchester City.

But largely, there appears to be a reluctance to take people on, to take risks. Of course, you have to have the players capable of performing that task against elite defenders.

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And with their resources, PSG and Bayern can attract them. As can Real Madrid and, to a certain extent, Barcelona. The flair players are going to those European superpowers rather than to the Premier League.

The chances of the next Ballon D’Or winner coming from the Premier League are probably slim to none. It is the time of the season when consideration is given to who will be named Footballer of the Year and there is a growing consensus that Bruno Fernandes is a warm favourite.

And he would be a worthy winner. He is getting my vote. But does he get you out of your seat? No. Not in the way half a dozen did in Paris.

Again, it is over-simplifying things to say the PSG-Bayern first leg exposed the attritional boredom of the Premier League. But if Luis Enrique and Vincent Kompany, the respective managers, did one thing, it was to show that taking risks is fun.

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