Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe may be among the most exciting footballers in the world to watch but Bayern Munich will not be admiring his skills when they meet on Wednesday in the Champions League last-16 second leg.
The 24-year-old France striker did not start in PSG’s 1-0 first-leg loss to the Germans in Paris last month, coming on as a second-half substitute following a minor injury.
He will play on Wednesday, however, as they look to turn around the tie, having netted 30 times in all club competitions this season.
“The most spectacular is Kylian,” Bayern attacking midfielder Thomas Mueller told a news conference on Tuesday when asked about PSG’s best player in a team that also has world champion Lionel Messi and Brazil international Neymar.
“I think it is a relatively easy decision. It is his explosiveness in combination with the right decisions in the box and he also goes where a striker needs to go,” Mueller said. “The whole world likes to watch him play but we will not be watching him. We will be causing him trouble. If our plan goes well he won’t have fun tomorrow (Wednesday).”
Mbappe became PSG’s all-time top scorer on Saturday with his 201st goal in all competitions.
PSG will be without Neymar, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
“The absence of Neymar does not change things too much. The fact that Mbappe plays from the start does change things,” Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann said.
Either way, one of the two teams will face its earliest Champions League exit since both were eliminated by English opponents in the round of 16 in 2018-19. Both expect to be in the quarter finals at the very least, so a loss could affect the future of Nagelsmann or PSG coach Christophe Galtier.
Focus on Spurs
A hugely inconsistent Tottenham Hotspur have a 1-0 deficit to overcome as they get ready to welcome AC Milan to north London for their Champions League last-16 second leg on Wednesday.
Brahim Diaz’s goal from the first leg separates the two sides but Antonio Conte’s Spurs would have taken positives from the Milan encounter last month. Spurs had more shots at goal, more possession and completed more passes than the Rossoneri.
Spurs’ home form of late has been good, having beaten Manchester City, West Ham and Chelsea without conceding a goal. Also, Harry Kane has an excellent record in the competition with 21 goals in 31 appearances. But Spurs are coming off back-to-back losses to Sheffield United and Wolves, which will give Milan confidence.
Written with inputs from Reuters
Today’s matches
⚫ Bayern Munich vs PSG
⚫ Tottenham vs AC Milan Both Round-of-16 matches from 1.30am IST (Thursday), Live on Sony Sports Network
Uefa refund for Liverpool tickets
Paris: Uefa will refund Liverpool fans who attended last year’s Champions League final in Paris, Europe’s football governing body said on Tuesday after an independent report said they were responsible for the chaos outside the stadium.
The final was delayed by 36 minutes after thousands of Liverpool supporters were unable to get into the Stade de France for the match on May 28, which Real Madrid won 1-0.
French police were filmed using tear gas on fans, including women and children. Although Uefa initially blamed the Merseyside club’s fans for the mayhem, the governing body later apologised.
“We believe we have devised a scheme that is comprehensive and fair,” Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said.
Refunds would be available, the governing body said, to all fans with tickets for gates A, B, C, X, Y and Z which was where “the most difficult circumstances were reported”. Liverpool fans had 19,618 tickets allocated for the final.
Reuters
