The Parisian staff probably had some ideas after Bayern’s victory over OL on Saturday in Lisbon.
Special envoy to Lisbon
“Kylian Mbappé will tear them to pieces,” promises Micah Richards, looking forward to the Champions League final between PSG and Bayern Munich, next Sunday (9 p.m.), in Lisbon. Consultant on CBS, the former England international thus evokes the spaces behind the Bavarian defense. Spaces widely used by OL on Wednesday, in the semi-finals (3-0). “If Bayern plays like that in the final, it can be 3-0 (for Paris) after 20 minutes… Why not move back (the block) five meters? Not 10 or 15, just five. It’s as if they liked having to run behind their backs, ”continues the former Man. City, quickly joined by another former Three Lions, Jamie Carragher: “They are not going to love for long (laughs)”. One thing is certain: the boulevards behind the back of Jerome Boateng and company will be targeted by the Parisian staff, who certainly did not miss a thing of this half whose “the score does not reflect the physiognomy”, as Rudi Garcia says. .
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“We made them doubt. It’s pretty good because everyone was promising us hell. We have not lived it, ”notes the OL coach. Still, it would have been necessary to be effective in front to push the German champion to his limits. There, the doubt will have really lasted only a quarter hour, until the post of Karl Toko-Ekambi (17th) and the first goal of Serge Gnabry (18th). With the arrows at his disposal, coach Tuchel could better exploit these spaces and endanger this formidable team. “They were not unbeatable, confirms Toko-Ekambi, on RMC. We knew we had to be above our level to win, we didn’t manage to do it. ” Parisians will simply have to be theirs.
Variety and depth
They will also have to display the same esprit de corps as against Leipzig (3-0), with the will to defend and play together, to suffer if necessary, to put on the warmth. As OL did, at the start of the match and in the second half in particular. Quite the opposite of what Barça did, however. Scattered like a puzzle in quarters (8-2), Lionel Messi and company had paid to see … “Barça lacked aggressiveness and humility, to say that opposite, it was Bayern and that he had to get high to get the ball back together, ”Juninho slips.
Rudi Garcia again identified a vein to be exploited: “I had asked my players to use the width much more, to be able to play quickly with the ball, in a touch, to move aside and to go see the ‘other side if it was closed, because this team suffers from that. ” Obviously, the Rhone coach had also insisted on “using the spaces behind the defense”. And it is also on balls in the back of the Munich rearguard that OL created their first two clear situations, during this famous first quarter of an hour (Memphis, Toko).
32 wins, one draw and only two losses with Flick
Obviously, FC Bayern Munich remains a war machine, which takes few goals, versatile in attack and driven by a fierce desire to crush everything in its path. “When Bayern starts to roll out, it looks like the Harlem Globetrotters”, tells us Patrick Guillou, consultant beIN SPORTS. The figures speak for themselves: 32 wins, one draw and only two defeats, 115 goals scored for 26 conceded since the appointment of the former world champion Flick to replace Nico Kovac, last November. Transfigured. Obviously there is individual quality on every floor, from Manuel Neuer in the cages to the Robert Lewandwowski goal machine up front. Wednesday, Serge Gnabry was in full light. Sunday will undoubtedly be another. “In 2013, we made the treble with fewer players. There, we have a fantastic group, very large, underlines the Neuer wall. We also have a good atmosphere. ”
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In summary, it is a mastodon that PSG will have to overthrow to lift the Cup with big ears. A giant that still has a few flaws to exploit. “Paris has big attackers, big names,” notes Neuer. There are always a lot of goals with Bayern and PSG. Two great teams in this final, it will please viewers. We are also delighted with this final. ” Clash of titans in sight in Lisbon.
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