Sports
BAYERN Munich manager Hansi Flick says his side needs to cause a “mini upset” if they progress past Paris St-Germain and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Holders Bayern dominated possession and had the better chances in last week’s quarter-final first leg – but lost 3-2.
It means they have to score at least two goals at Parc des Princes if they are to reach the last four.
“It will be a tough task, but these are the games we play for,” said Flick.
“We want to cause a mini upset in Paris. Of course, we’ll be delighted if we manage that.”
Flick says his players need to be more clinical against the French champions after they only scored twice from 31 attempts in last week’s first leg in Germany.
“We had many chances but we were not as decisive as we should have been and we have to improve,” he said. “We will do everything we can and approach the game with optimism
“We have to make sure we show the same ambition PSG showed against us. We have to force them into making mistakes. We know we have to score at least two goals.”
Bayern will still be without top-scorer Robert Lewandowski despite the Poland striker resuming training after a knee injury suffered on international duty last month.
Winger Serge Gnabry is also absent after he tested positive for Covid-19, but Leon Goretzka, Lucas Hernandez, Jerome Boateng and Kingsley Coman have shaken off knocks and should be fit.
Paris St-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino has warned his side they need to learn the lessons from the previous round, when they won 4-1 at Barcelona in the last-16 first leg before struggling at times in the return game that eventually ended 1-1
“I agree that we’ve been better away from home,” said the former Tottenham boss. “It is something we will have to look into at the end of the season but let’s hope things start turning around tomorrow.
“It doesn’t matter who is playing. It’s a question of collective attitude. It’s a challenge, being able to keep the ball and hurt the opposition.
“The Barca game is behind us and the Bayern game is another story. There will be moments when we will struggle and it’s in these moments that we will need to show solidarity and solidity.”
PSG will be without captain Marquinhos after the defender suffered a leg muscle injury in the first leg.
Italy midfielder Marco Verratti and full-back Alessandro Florenzi will be assessed after only recently returning to training following positive Covid-19 tests.
Match facts
- PSG earned a 3-2 win in the first leg away to Bayern Munich, while they have won all four of their previous games in which they’ve hosted the German side in European competition (all four in the Champions League between 1994 and 2017).
- Bayern Munich will be looking to progress from a Champions League knockout tie after losing the first leg for the first time since 2014-15 (v Porto in the quarter-finals) – the German side have been eliminated in each of the last four instances when losing the first leg, with all four coming in consecutive seasons between 2014-15 and 2017-18.
- Since the start of the 2003-04 season, PSG’s total of 31 shots faced in the first leg against Bayern was their most in a single game in the Champions League. Excluding penalties, the German side’s expected goals (xG) value of 3.79 was the most of any team in a single game in the competition this season.
- Only three of the last 50 teams to lose the first leg at home in a Champions League knockout tie have managed to progress – however one of these three did come against PSG in 2018-19, with Manchester United eliminating them in the last 16.
- PSG became the first team to beat Bayern Munich under Hansi Flick in 17 games in the Champions League. The German side haven’t failed to win both legs of a knockout tie in the competition since the 2018-19 season, doing so against Liverpool in the last 16 under Niko Kovac (D1 L1).
- After losing his first knockout tie as a manager in the Champions League – in a 3-4 aggregate defeat to Juventus in the last 16 in 2017-18 – PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino is now looking to win his fifth straight two-legged knockout tie in the competition.
- Kylian Mbappe has scored eight goals in eight appearances for PSG in the Champions League this season, and could set a new record for most goals by a French player in a single Champions League campaign, overtaking David Trezeguet in 2001-02 and Wissam Ben Yedder in 2017-18 (both eight).
- Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich has been involved in more goal-ending open play sequences than any other midfielder in the Champions League this season (nine). The German has also provided eight assists in his last nine games in the competition, including one for Thomas Müller in the first leg.
- Kylian Mbappe will be looking to score in four consecutive Champions League knockout appearances for the second time in his career, having previously done so in his first four such games for Monaco in 2017. He would be the first player to score in four consecutive knockout games for Paris St-Germain in the competition.
- Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has scored in each of his last two Champions League games for Bayern Munich (two goals), just one fewer than he managed in his first 22 games in the competition, and one more than he managed in 10 such outings for PSG.
BBC Sport
– Apr. 13, 2021 @ 08:25 GMT
Tags: We need to cause a "mini upset" in Paris - Flick
