In the Champions League, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain will face record starters FC Bayern Munich on Tuesday. It is an extraordinary game, not just because of the fact that it is the game of the first against the second in the premier class.
Vincent Kompany has already set the bar very high. “It will be a game with the highest intensity, the highest there is in Europe, that applies to both teams”said the FC Bayern coach immediately after the game against Bayer Leverkusen (3-0), which was more of a relaxed warm-up for the game against PSG. The Bundesliga duel was actually supposed to be a top game, but Munich is currently absolutely unrivaled nationally, so it was already clear that Leverkusen would be the club’s obligation for the freestyle in Paris.
Kompany said before the game that it had been clear to him for weeks that he would rotate extensively against Leverkusen. Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, for example, sat on the substitutes’ bench for over an hour to further recharge their batteries for the game that is really important for FC Bayern. Because it takes place on Tuesday evening (from 9 p.m. in the live ticker and in the audio stream on sportschau.de) in Paris.
FC Bayern wants to be number one in Europe
The German record champions won all of their first 15 competitive games, including big opponents such as Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea FC. But the Munich team are back in their “Mia-san-mia” feeling, which goes so far that they want to underline that they are the best team in Europe. And the best way to do that is against the team that was named the best team in Europe in May.
Paris won the Champions League in an impressive manner last season and have also started the new season perfectly, most recently with a 7-2 win in Leverkusen. After three games, the French lead the table in the premier class with nine points and 13:3 goals, immediately behind them: Bayern with nine points and 12:2 goals. So no piece of paper fits between the two teams, but for the Munich team it is a great opportunity to clarify the balance of power on European territory.
Kompany: “You have trust, we have trust – a great game”
“I’m looking forward to PSG. We deserve to go in there with full enthusiasm. It has to be rock ‘n’ roll. They have faith, we have faith – it’s a great game”said Kompany. And sports director Max Eberl said: “It’s a great opportunity to test ourselves against the best team in Europe. If we perform well, it’s hard to beat us.”
Substitute Harry Kane (l.) and Bayern coach Kompany during the game against Leverkusen.
PSG and Bayern aren’t the only teams going strong in the Champions League, but they’re still the ultimate in Europe right now. Paris doesn’t appear as such in its own league; the first third of the season, with three draws and one defeat, was nowhere near as overwhelming as in Munich. But in the premier class, coach Luis Enrique’s team plays like defending champions who want to – and can – defend their title.
“This is one of the best games we can play and currently have. Bayern have won their last 15 games – not bad. It will be great to play against one of the best teams in Europe.”said PSG coach Luis Enrique: “But we are confident and will of course try to make the best of this game.”
Bavaria therapy after a traumatic Club World Cup duel
In Paris it is – at least perceived and for the time being – about being number one in Europe. For Bayern it is also a way of coping with pain. Because before the current high, a game against PSG in the summer created a very bad mood in Munich. It wasn’t nice that the Champions League champions won the quarter-finals 2-0 at the Club World Cup and that Jamal Musiala was seriously injured, turning the game into a catastrophe.
Quarter-finals at the Club World Cup in July: Bayern around Jonathan Tah (r.) and Co. do not have good memories of the last meeting.
After his broken fibula and an ankle injury, the Bayern star is far from back; a comeback in December is currently considered possible. But even without Musiala, the Kompany team, which has improved thanks to the Leverkusen rotation “No longer have to worry about fitness”. The Bavarians take their finest dishes out of the drawer again and they are cleaned sparkling clean.
It is foreseeable that no one in the Bundesliga will stop the record champions on their way to the title. The club’s big goal is to be Europe’s king again after 2020. With a win in Paris, the already huge self-confidence would increase even further. This game will not decide the outcome in the premier class, but it will pave a way. It will be a day that FC Bayern will remember if they are successful if they win the trophy in Budapest on May 30, 2026.