Bayern midfielder reveals how to disable Mbappe

Working with teammates, Dayot Upamecano almost did not give Kylian Mbappe the space to finish in the second leg of the 1/8 Champions League round.

“We know PSG wants to make the most of Mbappe,” Upamecano shared after the second leg won 2-0 at the Allianz Stadium on the evening of March 8. “I tried to cope, although it was difficult. We completed the plan we set out thanks to teamwork. With De Ligt and Stanisic, I knew I had to narrow Mbappe’s space.”

It is thanks to this policy that Upamecano and his teammates make Mbappe almost impossible to finish. In the first leg, Mbappe was also dead when PSG lost 0-1 right at Parc des Princes.

Mbappe (left) was helpless against Upamecano in the Bayern – PSG match on the evening of March 8. Photo: Imago

Forced to win to keep their hopes up, PSG entered the game strongly, but could not turn the meager opportunities into goals. Most notably, midfielder Vitinha’s goal was broken on the goal line 38 minutes into the empty goal. Then the visitors made a mistake, from losing the ball in front of Marco Verratti’s penalty area 61 minutes, to Choupo. -Moting opened the scoring. In the 89th minute, Serge Gnabry shot from the corner to seal the victory for Bayern .

“We took advantage of the opponent’s mistake,” Upamecano said. “Today we showed that Bayern we are a team. Thank God I’m fine. I’m still a young player playing alongside great players who gave me advice like Thomas did. Muller at Bayern or Olivier Giroud in the France national team.”

According to winger Kingsley Coman, PSG played better in the first half, but after the break Bayern were more solid and put in more effort. He said it was because the team was more focused on themselves.

Upamecano and Coman are both Mbappe ‘s teammates in France. At the 2022 World Cup, they together reached the final – where Mbappe scored a hat-trick, but Coman missed a penalty that led to defeat against Argentina.

With the final score 3-0, Bayern entered the quarter-finals of the Champions League and maintained the chance to win three this season. They are leading the Bundesliga with 49 points after 23 games, equal points and more than Dortmund in difference. In the quarter-finals of the German Cup, Bayern prepares to meet Freiburg.