München – He is undoubtedly Bayern Munich’s defensive boss: Dayot Upamecano. In the current season, the 24-year-old has shone for long stretches with his strong tackling behavior, plenty of game overview and a good build-up game. Upamecano now has to show that in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The French are approaching none other than Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
FC Bayern: Dayot Upamecano warns of Messi’s positional play
Above all, the seven-time world footballer will keep running towards Upamecano. In an interview with the French sports newspaper “L’Equipe”, the French international warned against the Argentine’s positional play.
Upamecano said: “If you don’t keep an eye on him, he will hurt you. He will always have your back and watch how you position yourself.” In the same breath, there was plenty of praise for the ball artist. “I think Messi is the smartest player in the world,” said the centre-back. But Upamecano is not afraid of Messi.
Upamecano: “I know what we’re capable of”
Despite the Parisians’ 5-star attack, Upamecano goes into the game with plenty of self-confidence: “I know what we’re capable of. We’re a big team and we have our qualities.” With this class, the Munich team wants to win both games against the star ensemble. “That’s the goal because playing against Paris is like a final and I don’t want to lose another one.”
Upamecano lost World Cup final to Messi
Upamecano is referring to the World Cup final last December. The 24-year-old lost out with the French national team against Messi and Argentina – despite an outstanding performance from Upamecano.
© IMAGO/Jose Breton
von IMAGO/Jose Breton
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That should change now. The Munich team want to get a good starting position in Paris (9 p.m. live on Amazon Prime Video and in the AZ live ticker) to move into the quarter-finals of the premier class in the second leg at the beginning of March.
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