Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann was boastful of his tactics after his side overcame French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Two second-half goals from Cameroonian forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and German winger Serge Gnabry helped the Bavarians to a 2-0 win at the Allianz Stadium and a 3-0 win on aggregate to progress to the last-eight of the tournament.
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♦️ #FCBPSG 2-0 (agg: 3-0) ♦️ pic.twitter.com/GTBzHMwX3v
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 8, 2023
After the match, Nagelsmann praised his players for their concentration and highlighted his team’s set-up, which helped neutralize the threat of PSG’s dangerous front line of Kylian Mbappe and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi.
“We deliberately left three players in a deep position to try to deal with the threat caused by [Kylian] Mbappe and [Lionel] Messi,” the 35-year-old said. “PSG’s idea was to put Messi very high in the midfield to try to affect our play, and then ultimately Mbappe would try to isolate our defenders in the one on one.”
“We knew we needed to stop that and we defended quite well throughout the game. We overcommitted to try to apply the press but we changed that at half time.
“The fact is that from the beginning of the game this team wanted to defend passionately. But we didn’t just defend tonight; we wanted to play forward as well. We did a very good job tonight to take these two players out of the game,” Nagelsmann added.
The former RB Leipzig coach further emphasized the need for his players to continue to show confidence and togetherness as they forge ahead and move into the business end of the season.
“Well, we will see how the rest of the season goes. I expect a lot of confidence in ourselves,” he said.
“If we are able to combine our passion with the intensity we displayed during the second half and the courage the lads showed during the first half then anything is possible. Because if we will get there, we will be a very tough team to defeat.”
Wednesday’s win was Bayern’s seventh over Les Parisiens in the Champions League and their fourth win in five games against the French side, including a 1-0 win in the finals of the 2019-20 season to lift their sixth European title.
