It’s been an up-and-down season for Paris Saint-Germain but when the bright lights of the UEFA Champions League are on, they’ve delivered more often than not.
On this episode of PSG Talking, I’m joined by Guillaume Delaporte and Carl-Oscar Källström to break down PSG’s surprising 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich in the quarter-final of the Champions League.
We begin the show with our overall thoughts on the result. Most PSG Talk contributors were cautiously optimistic about PSG’s chances but scoring three away goals against arguably the best team in Europe was unexpected.
Statistically, Bayern dominated PSG everywhere except for goals scored, and the reason why could be blamed on their arrogance in thinking they could get away with a high defensive line like they did in last season’s Champions League final. This time, Kylian Mbappé was able to exploit the high line to the tune of two goals. Will Hans-Dieter Flick set up his team the same way in the return leg knowing he needs goals to advance to the next round or can PSG expect a tactical change?
After the match, much of the conversation centered around who wasn’t on the pitch for Bayern. Robert Lewandowski was out injured and many speculated that if he were fit, he would have finished several of Bayern’s scoring opportunities. However, PSG was without Marco Verratti, Leandro Paredes, and was down to their third-string full-backs. Should Mauricio Pochettino and PSG get more credit for this result considering who they were without?
Towards the end of the show, we switch gears slightly and discuss a recent New York Times article in which the author writes about the plethora of talent in the Paris region and PSG’s inability to bring those players through their academy and into the starting lineup. Could PSG’s new training facility make the difference and help the club keep the best players in the French capital?
We close the show by discussing other results around the Champions League including whether Borussia Dortmund can pull off the upset over Manchester City.
As always, thank you for listening, and be sure to subscribe and rate the show wherever you download your podcasts.
Want more PSG? Visit the PSG Talk Podcast Network page and subscribe to PSG Talking, The 1970, and 24th & Parc.
