Football: After 1-0 loss, Mbappe believes PSG can beat Bayern in return leg

PARIS – Kylian Mbappe said he was confident Paris Saint-Germain could advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their last-16 clash on Tuesday.

The French forward came on as a substitute in the 57th minute and ignited the game, having two goals disallowed for offside, as his entrance changed the storyline of the match at the Parc des Princes.

“We have to remember the final part of the game, we were behind but we saw that we were able to cause them trouble. We need all our players to be healthy and go there to win and qualify,” said Mbappe, who was back after a two-week thigh injury layoff.

The 24-year-old’s return to fitness is PSG’s best hope looking ahead to the second leg on March 8 at the Allianz Arena.

“I was not supposed to play but I wanted to help my teammates, bring some energy. We tried everything. Today, I couldn’t do more,” he added.

Kingsley Coman scored the only goal of the game against his former club, finishing from an Alphonso Davies cross in the 53rd minute.

PSG, who have now lost five games in all competitions in 2023, failed to fight back despite finishing the game with Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi all on the pitch.

They were poor for long spells but improved towards the end after Mbappe came off the bench and injected pace and direction into their attack.

Christophe Galtier’s side now face the prospect of a second elimination in a row in the last 16 in Munich, but Mbappe reiterated that, if PSG are at full strength, they can turn things around.

“It’s important that all our players are healthy, that everyone eats well, sleeps well,” he said.

“We saw that when we are all together, we are able to play forward, to play attacking football and that they were not comfortable.”

Galtier was also hopeful his side could still qualify for the quarter-finals.

“It might seem a banal thing to say but tonight nobody is through and nobody is out,” he said.

“I am daring to hope that we will be fresher in three weeks and, if we can play the way we played in the last 25 to 30 minutes, then we can beat Bayern.

“The return leg will be in three weeks, so we can hopefully get more players back for then and be fresher.”

The PSG coach will hope that right-back Achraf Hakimi will be back after he was replaced because of injury at half-time.

Coman, who was born in Paris and started his career with PSG, did not celebrate his goal.

But it was a case of history repeating itself – he was the match-winner when Bayern beat the French club in the 2020 final to become European champions for the sixth time.

“It was a bit strange. I grew up at this club, in this city, I was born here, so it was difficult to celebrate but, at the end, we are really pleased with the victory,” the French winger said.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann, meanwhile, is wary that the tie is not over yet with such a slim lead.

“We played really well in the first 25 minutes and the best team on the night won,” he said.

“It’s an important victory but there’s a second leg coming.

“We were dominant and aggressive in the beginning. Then they started to find some depth when Mbappe came on.

“We can play even more direct towards the goal.

“We were very surprised that we had the ball so much and Paris wanted to do relatively little.

“I knew they always defend deep but the fact that they’re so passive, and not really designed to win the ball, surprised me a bit.”
REUTERS, AFP