Paris Saint-Germain were drawn in a mouth-watering UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie with 2020 winners Bayern Munich.
Arguably the biggest clash of the quarterfinal rounds sees last season’s finalists face off for a sequel after ex-PSG man Kingsley Coman headed Bayern to their sixth title in August.
It is no doubt one of the biggest games of the Champions League season so far, and none of the previous nine clashes between these two have ended in a draw.
This season’s final eight showdown would be much different from that cagey final, PSG have won more times in Europe against Bayern than anyone else.
The defending champions continue to dominate in Europe and domestically but the Parisians have also strengthened with the mid-season appointment of Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine steered his side to a thumping 5-2 aggregate win over Barcelona in the last 16 and would be keen to lap up the momentum.
The ex-Tottenham boss is optimistic and looking forward to a competitive tie, whose winners will take on Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund.
“We’re happy to be at this level, and the eight best clubs in Europe are going to take each other on”. Pochettino said.
“It’s an honour to take part in this competition. The Champions League is very difficult to win, we must play against the best, and we’re going to face the defending champions. The draw is of course a difficult one, and surprises exist, but we’re going to play against the team that is the best on the continent at the moment.”
“We’re optimistic, the team will be competitive, we knocked out Barcelona and now we are focused on Bayern, with one objective, that of qualifying for the semi-finals.”
Neymar could be available for the clash against the Bavarians and there’s an air of unpredictability ahead of the tie, despite Robert Lewandowski’s unstoppable goalscoring form. It will once again be decided by fine margins.
PSG captain Marquinhos is looking forward to what he thinks will be a ‘great match’:
“We’ll have a great match to play, and if we want to go far in this competition then we need to be capable of beating any opponents.
They’re a great team. We met them in last season’s final, and now it’s down to us to show that we are capable of getting through this tie”. The Brazilian told PSG TV.
It’s a pity that the supporters aren’t there this season, as having them behind us at the Parc des Princes always makes a difference. It’s a special context and we need to respect the situation we’re living through. We’ll put all the ingredients into it. We need to go there and play a good game before coming back here and sealing our qualification.”
The Bundesliga holders host PSG at the Allianz Arena on 6 April before traveling to France a week later.
Whoever wins this tie is tipped to reach the final and possibly win the competition from the tougher side of the draw.
