Julian Nagelsmann offered a reply to Kylian Mbappe after the Paris Saint-Germain star’s “favourites” claim ahead of their Champions League clash.
WHAT HAPPENED? Kingsley Coman’s 53rd-minute strike in Paris gave Bayern Munich a slender 1-0 lead to take home to the Allianz Arena when the two sides meet again in three weeks’ time. Mbappe was subbed on in the second half and the forward found the net twice, only to see his efforts ruled out for offside. After the match, the 2018 World Cup winner reinforced that they will travel to Bavaria “to win and qualify” and even went as far as saying his side are favourites. The Bayern head coach responded to that, insisting his side will also play offensive football, despite having a one-goal advantage to protect.
WHAT THEY SAID: “Mbappe said that they can hurt us if they have the ball and play offensively. It’s the same the other way around. We will certainly not put ourselves on the back [foot] in the second leg,” Nagelsmann told reporters.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Mbappe caused all sorts of problems for Bayern’s backline, despite not being fully fit, with his incisive runs in the attacking third proving difficult for his opponents to handle. As well as seeing two goals ruled out for offside, Yann Sommer also denied the Frenchman, and he will be desperate to make his mark in the second leg, where he will likely be at peak fitness. As for whether the forward is right to be confident, PSG are actually the last team to beat Bayern at home in Europe, with Mbappe scoring twice on the night back in April 2021 in a 3-2 win for the visitors.
WHAT NEXT FOR MBAPPE & BAYERN? The forward will hope to be in action against Lille on Sunday after recovering from his hamstring injury, while Bayern face Borussia Monchengladbach away from home in the Bundesliga on February 18.
Source: goal.com
