Marquinhos (left) rages after Paris Saint-Germain’s cup defeat.Image: IMAGO/PanoramaC
Football International
There have been small taunts between FC Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain for a good week and a half. The two top European clubs will only meet next Tuesday in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
But even beforehand, the injury to Paris superstar Kylian Mbappé caused a lot of discussion. Paris indicated that the 23-year-old will definitely miss the first leg with a muscle injury.
Bayern coach Julian did not trust the message last Friday. “But unless it’s a structural injury, I can’t see him missing for this game.”
Paris coach Christophe Galtier was not impressed by the statement. “It’s not the club’s style and it’s not my style at all,” he said last Saturday on Canal+.
But before the duel with Munich, there is a powerful mood of crisis in Paris. Captain Marquinhos chose strong words for the current situation.
Paris offensive motor stutters without Mbappé
Because in the absence of Mbappé, coach Galtier is primarily concerned about his team’s unimaginative offensive performance. That became clear on Wednesday night when PSG lost 2-1 to great rivals Olympique Marseille in the French Cup.
With Lionel Messi and Neymar, PSG’s other attacking stars remained largely pale. Messi missed the capital club’s best chance ten minutes from time.
Only Sergio Ramos scored for the Parisians. In injury time in the first half, the central defender scored the equalizer. But because Marseille scored twice – Alexis Sanchez converted a penalty in the 31st minute and Ruslan Malinovskyi completed a counterattack after the break (57th minute) – PSG were only left behind.
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After the bankruptcy against Marseille, however, it was not one of the weakening strikers who spoke, but a defender. Captain Marquinhos heavily criticized his team.
“It’s time to shut up. We know we have to improve a lot if we want to achieve something big this season”, he said. Marquinho’s following words make it clear how much the elimination in the cup hurts the players of the French champions:
“A title that’s gone. It hurts. We’re disgusted”
Unlike PSG, FC Bayern has done its homework in the domestic cup. Last week, the Munich team beat Mainz 05 4-0.
PSG and FC Bayern not in top form
But even at Bayern, things are not really going well at the moment. The cup triumph in Mainz was preceded by a sporting dry spell of three games without a win. In the Bundesliga, coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team recently won against VfL Wolfsburg, but conceded more shots on goal than ever before this season.
The Champions League duel with Paris Saint-Germain promises to be a blast on paper. However, since both teams will not be in top form, it is currently more unclear than ever who will prevail in the end.
A week ago, Bayern boss Oliver Kahn was very impressed by Manuel Neuer. “I was amazed at how reflective he was about the whole situation,” said the CEO, praising the reaction of his longtime number one to the signing of a second world-class keeper. “It just shows what a great character he is.”
