“If our plan works, Mbappé will not have much fun”
Bayern want to stop PSG with a “broad, hairy chest”.
FC Bayern is in a good position going into the Champions League round of 16 second leg against PSG. Thomas Müller explains how the Munich superstar wants to stop Kylian Mbappe and beat Paris with a bizarre comparison.
FC Bayern sees itself prepared for the showdown with the stars of Paris St. Germain. Coach Julian Nagelsmann has a plan to stop Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. Uli Hoeneß, on the other hand, thinks of the big picture and wants to bind Schweinsteiger to the club.
Thomas Müller began his performance with a warning. “A goal can definitely be caught up,” said Bayern’s attacking star at the press conference in the Munich stadium. After the 1-0 away win in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Paris St. Germain, the starting situation before the second game this Wednesday (9 p.m., DAZN and in the WELT live ticker) is exciting. “It’s a special game,” said Müller.
The world champion replaces the injured Manuel Neuer as captain. Müller emphasized: “It’s about having eleven captains on the pitch. Everyone is aware of what is at stake.” PSG superstar Kylian Mbappé sees his team as favorites despite the defeat in the first encounter. In the first leg, Munich had enormous problems after Mbappé came on, this time the striker will play from the start.
“Our job will be that he sees things differently after the game,” said Müller. “Kylian has a lot of confidence. The whole world likes to watch him play football. We won’t watch him, we will disturb him. If our plan works, he won’t have much fun.” But you also need luck. “It’s going to be a hot dance,” says Müller. “The anticipation is there. Two great teams meet.” His team feels well prepared. “I’m curious to see how Paris will do. If they risk too much too soon, we will have our chance to catch them early.”
So Nagelsmann wants to stop Messi and Mbappé
Defender Benjamin Pavard is suspended after his yellow-red card from the first leg. Josip Stanisic is expected to play for him. The 22-year-old is supposed to slow down the Paris offensive around Mbappé and the Argentine world champion Lionel Messi in a defensive alliance with the regulars Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt. Stanisic was last convincing in the Bundesliga and was preferred to the more offensive Joao Cancelo. “His qualities are undisputed. In the moments when you play, you have to be there. Stani was there,” said Müller. “He is gallant in duels and very fast. I think he’s absolutely up for the task.”
Julian Nagelsmann praised Stanisic Tuesday as very reliable. An Israeli journalist visited Nagelsmann’s home town of Issing this week and asked the coach if, as a boy, he could have imagined coaching such a big game. Nagelsmann reported how he became a member of FC Issing as a child and replied: “It is one of my greatest wishes to win the Champions League.” He could not see a big difference in quality between the squad from Paris and his FC Bayern. The fact that Neymar is out doesn’t change much. The teams were “the same level in many positions. PSG have one or two top stars on top – we have exactly the same.”
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé (right) during the final training session in the Munich Arena
What: REUTERS
According to Uli Hoeneß, the outcome of the round of 16 will have no impact on the long-term coaching project with Nagelsmann. “I think it’s totally overplayed. From my point of view, the outcome of the game has nothing to do with Julian Nagelsmann’s commitment,” said the honorary president at an event of the “Abendzeitung” in Munich.
You can’t compare the knockout games against Paris with the Munich quarterfinals in the first year under Nagelsmann. “You can be eliminated in the round of 16 against Paris. It makes a huge difference whether I’m eliminated against Villarreal or against Paris Saint-Germain,” said Hoeneß. Structurally, he sees Qatar-funded PSG as a “total counterpart” to his Bayern Munich side. “On Wednesday we are dealing with a club where money is not an issue. They can buy anything – and they lose to us.”
Hoeneß pleads for Schweinsteiger’s return to Bayern
Hoeneß believes in a successful Bayern season. With a view to the 35-year-old Nagelsmann, whose contract runs until 2026, he also said: “If everything turns out the way I think it will, we will no longer discuss the Nagelsmann issue in six to eight weeks.” Hoeneß is thinking hard about the future of the club. And would welcome Bastian Schweinsteiger’s return to FC Bayern: “I’m convinced that with Bastian Schweinsteiger, the doors at FC Bayern will open wide.” The 38-year-old Schweinsteiger is currently an ARD expert.
Hugs – Uli Hoeneß (left) and Bastian Schweinsteiger in 2013. According to Hoeneß, Schweinsteiger has undergone a transformation into a well-established man
Those: pa/Christina Pahnke/sampics
“Bastian has made an incredible development in personality. He used to be a rascal, a good kicker, but with a lot of fluff. Now he is a grown man, a man of the world,” said the 71-year-old Hoeneß. He can also well imagine a Bayern future after the playing career with Manuel Neuer (36) and Müller (33): “Thomas is a figure I can identify with and is suitable for any type of job at Bayern.”
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