For Bayern Munich (as for Paris), it will not be a cakewalk. Disappointingly released by Villarreal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, the Bavarian club inherited a very large piece, with Paris Saint-Germain. The German press is unanimous. “Mass blow for German clubs”, headlines the Bild newspaper, this Monday, November 7 after the draw for the round of 16 of the event. Kicker validates this observation and speaks of “difficult draws for the German quartet”.
Indeed, apart from Bayern-PSG, Frankfurt, Dortmund and Leipzig, all qualified, will face Naples, Chelsea and Manchester City respectively in February. No small feat… In the ranks of Bayern, Thomas Müller was the first to react in a video posted on Instagram. The striker appears much more cautious than two seasons ago when his “goodbye” published before the elimination against Paris had been interpreted as provocation.
“Great respect” for Paris
“Hello Paris, once again. Two big teams with big players. Unfortunately, one of them will not be able to go to the next round. This time, no goodbye. I have great respect for Paris, it will be a great duel. See you next year,” commented the German international.
It must be said that the two clubs know each other well now. In 2020, Bayern won in the final in Lisbon (1-0) before PSG took their revenge a year later, in the quarter-finals. “It’s 50-50. These will be two big games, we can’t wait to be there, commented Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic at the microphone of the L’Équipe channel. We are very good at the moment, but we will see in what state we recover the players after the World Cup. »
74 goals scored since the start of the season
Although he can count on an offensive war machine, with 74 goals scored since the start of the season, and a perfect series of 6 wins in as many group matches, coach Julian Nagelsmann knows that the march will be high against the squad of Mbappé, Messi and Neymar. “We already had formidable opponents in the group stage (Barça, Inter), we finished first in the group, but we were not really rewarded, he regrets. But Paris, who lost first place in the group in the last match, did not have to exult either when they learned that they will play against us. »