On the eve of a Bayern/PSG match which turns out to be crucial for both teams given the ranking (17th against 25th), CulturePSG went to question Media Bayern France, an X account specializing in the Bavarian club, in order to find out more about this giant of Europe which is both very well known but not necessarily very well publicized in France.
The last Bayern/PSG was played in March 2023 with Nagelsmann against Galtier and Choupo-Moting against Sergio Ramos on the field. Paris has changed enormously since then, but what hasn’t changed on the Bayern side ?
“Bayern has regained the taste for the game, which we had lost with Tuchel”
“This question is interesting because if you had asked me this question 6 months ago, or even two, I would have had completely different answers. A lot of things have changed for Bayern over the past 18 months, but today, I would say that Bayern has regained the taste for the game, something we had lost with Tuchel and which we were starting to lose under Nagelsmann. We manage to play football inspired by Guardiola, as in 2023, by combining offensive power and defensive stability. Even if it’s hard to believe given our debut in the Champions League (Editor’s note: Bayern have conceded 7 goals in 4 matches), we remain on 6 consecutive clean sheets. Now what really hasn’t changed is our Neuer-Upamecano-Kimmich-Musiala spine, with the bottom three being in stunning form. »
After the failure of Thomas Tuchel’s passage, the FCB decided to change coach last summer and this quest was, to say the least, folkloric with numerous refusals then, finally, the payment of compensation of around €10 million for bringing in Vincent Kompany from Burnley. How are the Belgian’s beginnings going?
“Everyone is won over by Kompany”
“To make a long story short, the start is excellent, and the defeats in the Champions League don’t change that. As you said, the search for a coach was a fiasco and when he arrived, no one believed in him. And yet, apart from the match against Barcelona (Editor’s note, 4-1 defeat), each match could have been won by 3 goals and it would not have been a scandal. We completely extinguished Alonso’s Leverkusen, who scored on his only half-chance and more generally, everyone was won over. From the fans, to the media (Matthaus notably declared on German television that Kompany’s Bayern were the most dominant since Guardiola’s) but above all to the players, who are all fans of his method. »
What are the main strengths of this Bayern Kompany version? And on the contrary, what are its weaknesses?
“Neuer is far from his finest hours”
“Kompany’s Bayern strengths lie in their ability to always move forward, even at 3-0, we no longer want to stop at 1-0, as has been the case for two years. The whole group wants to hurt the opponent and despite the very high pressure and the risky play that we are putting in place, Upamecano and Kim Min-jae are in a fairly phenomenal state of grace, just like Davies.
Our weaknesses are often the result of injuries. On the right, Boey and Stanisic are not ready to start matches or injured and we have to make do with Guerreiro and Laimer, who have their weaknesses (average defensively for one, bad offensively for the other). In the middle, Pavlovic, who was our starting midfielder alongside Kimmich and Palhinha, who was his replacement, are both injured and Goretzka is their replacement, he who started the season in the stands. Question mark on his state of form. Finally, Neuer is far from his finest hours, fortunately Bayern concede very few shots. »
If PSG struggles at center forward, it seems that Bayern’s weak point is at right-back: can you explain the situation to us?
“Kimmich is indestructible”
“From a more general point of view, Boey is coming back from injury and will be a real asset. One might wonder why Kimmich does not play this position with the absences, and it is quite simply because it is the centerpiece of Kompany’s game. Joshua is unstoppable. »
The name of Joshua Kimmich is also regularly linked to PSG, can you imagine him joining Paris one day, knowing that he is at the end of his contract next June?
“I don’t want to ruin the atmosphere, but no. I think Joshua is 90% going to stay in Munich. He is a family man and he, his wife and children recently moved into a new home in Munich, with the player repeating that he makes Munich his priority. Furthermore, if he were to leave, he would surely join Guardiola or Flick at Barca, two of the coaches he appreciated the most. »
The two defeats in the Champions League seem to indicate a certain fragility away, what about the results at home? Is the Allianz Arena still a fortress?
“The Allianz Arena is still a fortress”
“The Allianz Arena is still a fortress, yes. Even in our horrible 2023/2024 season, we managed to draw against Real and win against Arsenal. We’re not necessarily bad away, but we’re very good at home. »
Executioner of PSG on several occasions, Kingsley Coman was leaving this summer and he ultimately stayed. What is his status now?
“He had to leave and I wish he would have done it personally. He’s had a good start to the season, but he’s no longer the same Kingsley honestly, his crosses to the third post quickly get boring. However, he has already scored as many goals this season as he did all of last season in the Bundesliga and that remains a danger because he is one of our best men in big games. »
A big thank you to Media Bayern France for the time given.
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