Lionel Messi is under pressure with PSG in Munich. © ANSA / ANNA SZILAGYI
The summit meeting in the Champions League in the evening between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain promises to be explosive. At the same time, Milan want to fix the quarter-finals.
March 08, 2023
From: apa/dpa
The star ensemble from the Seine around world footballer Lionel Messi has to catch up from a 0-1 deficit in the round of 16 second leg in Munich from 9 p.m. While Bayern want to smash the Parisian cup dream again, Messi is certain: “We are well prepared and able to turn the whole thing around.”
The Argentine world champion expects a “very close and difficult game” and the outcome will “depend on small details”, the 35-year-old said in a club interview. He himself feels “very good”. Messi admitted that coach Christophe Galtier’s side weren’t in the best form before recent victories against Marseille (3-0) and Nantes (4-2). But now they have improved and want to try “to do everything right” in Munich as well.
Messi feels ‘very good’
That didn’t work in the first leg three weeks ago, the Frenchman Kingsley Coman scored the gold goal for the German record champions, as he did in the 2020 CL final. The recently struck star striker Kylian Mbappe was only substituted on for the Parisians in the second half, and the 24-year-old is now in top form again. “We’re going to Munich to win and to qualify for the next round,” announced World Cup top scorer Mbappe on the TV station Canal Plus after becoming the club’s all-time leading scorer with his 201st goal for PSG against Nantes.
A big absentee from the Allianz Arena will be Neymar. The Brazilian ball artist is out for the rest of the season with ligament surgery in his right ankle. According to the club, the 31-year-old will only be able to return to team training in three to four months.
Julian Nagelsmann is confident about the game against PSG. © ANSA / ANNA SZILAGYI
Bayern, meanwhile, have also successfully contested the last two league games against Union Berlin (3-0) and in Stuttgart (2-1), claiming the lead in the league. Coach Julian Nagelsmann relies on a special tactic against PSG, the French should not have fun doing their job. “If we rob them of their desire, then there will be many situations where we are simply very strong in the community, where we can also hurt PSG in the community,” said the coach in one published on the club’s website Interview.
Milan starts at 1-0
In the second game on Wednesday night, Tottenham are looking to come back from a 1-0 deficit against Milan in front of their home crowd. However, the Londoners botched their dress rehearsal with a 0-1 draw at Wolverhampton, the team coached by Antonio Conte has to tremble for fourth place in the Premier League, which is equivalent to a starting place in the premier class.
Milan are visiting London in the second leg. © APA / afp / DANIEL LEAL
The Milanese are in a similar situation in Serie A, after a 1-2 draw at Fiorentina, Stefano Pioli’s team slipped to fifth place. The Italians are also worried about the use of sick striker Olivier Giroud.
