UEFA Champions League: PSG face a tall task against Bayern Munich without Neymar
Mar 08, 2023
Munich [Germany], March 8 : The French League leaders Paris Saint-German will face Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League on March 9. Bayern Munich currently has a one-goal advantage over the visitors. PSG will step into the Allianz Arena without their Brazilian star Neymar. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe will lead the attacking front in the absence of the Brazilian star.
While talking in the pre-match conference PSG manager Christophe Galtier gave his views on Neymar's absence in the UCL tie.
"I hear the debate around Ney. But we are talking about a player who has scored 18 goals and made 17 assists since the start of the season. When I read that it's so much better, no! It is a handicap for the team. He is a player who has always been very professional since I have been here. Is the team more balanced? Yes. But is it better without him? It's better to have Ney if only to score more goals," Galtier said.
If PSG wants to turn around this tie just like Chelsea did against Dortmund, they will need to come out with a better attacking approach. PSG has some flaws in their defensive system. If they try to launch an all-out attack, their defence will be most vulnerable at that point in time. Galtier shed some light on his tactics against PSG.
"We're going to have to be both cautious and very audacious in the way that we attack. All systems have flaws and strengths. In the last games, we conceded goals. It needs to be fixed. I talked about it with the players this morning. There are faults with us, but there are also faults with them. We will have to be both very vigilant and very daring in the way we are going to attack," Galtier continued.
For Bayern Munich, their game plan will be simple, keep their formation intact and strike PSG's defence with venom whenever an opportunity presents itself. Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry will use their pace to exploit PSG on the flanks. In the pre-match conference, Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann said:
"They need at least one goal to level it up. I expect them to apply a lot of pressure from the start. In Ligue 1, they often defend deep and play on the counter-attack. Their style of play also depends on who's fit and can play. In the first leg, they were without Kylian Mbappe at the start, which affected their match plan a little bit. When he came on, they started playing a different way. As I said, I expect it to be much more attacking and open than in Paris," Julian Nagelsmann said.
The key players who can decide the fate of this game will be Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Marquinhos for PSG. On the other hand, Jamal Musiala, Kingsley Coman and Joshua Kimmich will be the key players for Bayern Munich.
