In this almost closed circle that the Champions League (C1) has become, the chance of the draw very often brings you face to face with an old acquaintance. Today’s event in Nyon (Switzerland), at UEFA headquarters, offers Paris-Saint-Germain a reunion with Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the competition. For Parisians, the memory is as fresh as it is painful.
On August 23, 2020, the Germans took on their favorite role of tormentors for French clubs in the final. After Saint-Etienne (in 1976 in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup) and Bordeaux (in 1996 in the UEFA Cup), PSG lost in the final against the Bavarian club (1-0). And to complete the ordeal, the only scorer of this Lisbon evening was a former offspring of the Parisian training center, Kingsley Coman.
The double confrontation (first leg on April 6 or 7 in Germany, return a week later to the Parc des Princes) continues the cycle of revenge initiated by the Parisians. After avenging the “Remontada” of 2017 – not without trembling in the second leg – against FC Barcelona in the previous round, Mauricio Pochettino’s players are tackling a non-category pass here.
Indeed, nobody wanted to cross the road of the title holder, not visibly affected by the decompression of the champion. At the head of the Bundesliga, qualified for the quarter-finals of C1 with two convincing successes against Lazio Rome (4-1 away, 2-1 at home), Bayern proves that German reliability is not qu ‘a very useful cliché for selling cars.
He can especially count on the finest trigger of the moment with Robert Lewandowski, already author of 39 goals this season and “moral” Golden Ball 2020. Covid and truncated season oblige, the weekly France Football had given up on awarding his precious trophy, which seemed promised to the Pole.
Distrust on the side of Bayern
Invited by RMC Sport to comment on this draw, Leonardo was forced to respond with the cliché “You have to beat everyone to get to the end”. But the sports director of PSG recognizes that Bayern “Is perhaps the fittest team around.” However, the Brazilian does not lose his eternal smile and this quiet assurance: “We are always optimistic, it’s a competition rooted in us. “
On the Bayern side, there is a certain mistrust. “Paris has a very big team. They are currently second in their championship, but it is a challenge for us at the highest level, assures technical director Hasan Salihamidzic. They have top-level players, and with Mbappé, an attacker who has all the qualities and who is very dangerous. “
A contender rejected for the cup with “big ears”, the Qatari version of PSG keeps an offensive strike force almost unique in Europe with gunners like Neymar, Mbappé, Di Maria or Icardi. But this potential remains above all theoretical since the start of the season between the misforms of some, the traditional winter injury of Neymar and a flavorless game.
But with its Brazilian leader in the recovery phase and a Kylian Mbappé at the stratospheric level of his first leg in Barcelona, PSG have some arguments to satisfy their sweet revenge against an unbeaten opponent on the European scene since March 2019.
In case of qualification, the rest of the menu promises to be just as full with a potential semi-final against Borussia Dortmund or (and especially) Manchester City, arguably the most attractive team in Europe at the moment. But as it seems that you have to beat everyone to finally achieve your goals …
Posters of the quarter-finals:
The quarter-finals of the Champions League will oppose (first legs on April 6 and 7, return on April 13 and 14):
Manchester City – Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich – Paris-Saint-Germain
Real Madrid – Liverpool
FC Porto – Chelsea
