Thomas Muller issued a warning to Kylian Mbappe ahead of Bayern Munich’s crunch Champions League last-16 return leg against Paris Saint-Germain.
- Mbappe on scintillating form
- Had two goals disallowed in first leg
- Muller reveals plan to stop Frenchman
WHAT HAPPENED? The Ligue 1 side travel to Germany on Wednesday needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in which Mbappe, freshly recovered from a hamstring problem, caused havoc of the bench but saw his two second-half strikes disallowed for offside. Ahead of more mayhem against PSG’s star forward, Muller revealed that the Frenchman “won’t have fun” if their tactical plan is implemented correctly.
WHAT THEY SAID: “Kylian, by his profile, logically represents a danger,” the German told reporters ahead of the match. “He is the player who scores the most for PSG. We have to think about how to stop him, but this is a team sport. It’s not a question of stopping one player. We have to reduce his space in the middle and we are brave enough to go one-on-one with him. If he passes a first player, there will be another one behind. The whole world loves to watch him play football, but tomorrow we won’t want to watch him. If our plan is effective, he won’t have fun.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Since the first leg in Paris, Mbappe has been on fire for the capital side, recording a staggering five goals and one assist in three matches as PSG now sit eight points clear at the Ligue 1 summit. Bayern, meanwhile, hold on to top spot in the Bundesliga by goal difference over Borussia Dortmund, but will be boosted by the absence of Neymar, whose season now looks in doubt after needing ankle surgery for an injury sustained in mid-February.
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DID YOU KNOW? In six Champions League meetings with Bayern, Mbappe has recorded three goals and one assist, but has been on the losing side four times (having won just twice).
WHAT NEXT? Attention will turn to domestic matters when Wednesday’s blockbuster European clash reaches its conclusion. Bayern host Augsburg on Saturday, while PSG travel to Brest on the same day.
Source: goal.com
