On paper, Bayern Munich dominated in its UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg fixture against Paris Saint-Germain. Bayern Munich recorded far more total shots than PSG in the match and won the possession battle. But still, PSG came away with a 3-2 win.
Two of PSG’s goals came via quick transition scores from Mbappe. The French forward did not have many attacking responsibilities in the match, but PSG sure must be pleased that he finished his high-percentage goal-scoring opportunities.
For these two chances, Mbappe credited a key tactic that manager Mauricio Pochettino implemented for the match, which he shared with RMC Sport.
“The coach wanted me to close the passing lines on Kimmich with Neymar,” Mbappe said. “That’s where the space was in recovery, so he wanted me to go deep to stretch Bayern’s block and have them make runs because that’s not what they prefer. That was the plan for me, I was up for the challenge, and it worked well today.”
PSG will have the second leg of this tie coming next week. Mbappe sure aims to add to his current Champions League goals total, as he has so far scored eight goals in this season’s competition, with six of them coming in the knockout stage.
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