Bayern Munich Head Coach Hansi Flick says the Bundesliga Champions will proceed to the UEFA champions league semifinals despite their 3-2 home defeat against PSG last night.
In his reaction address from the Bayern camp after the tight encounter Hansi Flick said the PSG match was an unfortunate encounter because Bayern had dominated the game, which they managed to get 31 shots on target hence their play was impressive although he hailed the French side performance.
“The defeat was unfortunate. PSG played with great efficiency and scored three goals from very few chances. We dominated the game, had 31 shots on goal. The way we played was impressive. Unfortunately, we were not clinical and efficient enough in front of goal. The team fought for 90 minutes on the pitch, never gave up. We still have a game in Paris and we will do everything to turn that into a positive result. We want to get to the semifinals, and today’s result doesn’t change that.” Said Flick.
Moreover Bayern midfielder Thomas Muller also said that his side missed a lot of golden opportunities while insisting that on the next encounter the UEFA trophy holders had a task to score as many goals as possible for them to qualify for the UEFA champions league semifinals.
“We missed a lot of chances today. We need to score a lot more goals, and if it ends 5-3, 6-3, nobody complains. We shot ourselves in the foot. Now we have to come from behind. If we showed the killer instinct that we often show, everything would look different. We don’t need to discuss the goals we conceded. Today we left far too much to chance. Now our full focus is on the second leg. If we do like we did today, we’ll get as many chances as we did today. If we take advantage of those chances, we’ll make it through to the semi-finals. We’re convinced we can progress.” He said.
In addition Bayern Striker Eric Choupo-Moting added that there was need for his side to score more goals and he ensured that the tie was not yet over.
The former Stoke city striker said that the two European giants were set to clash next week for the second leg and the result will define the future for Bayern.
“We didn’t score enough goals and conceded too many. Another day we score five or six. That’s tough to take. It was a great fight. It’s a shame we didn’t reward ourselves. We came back well. It’s not over yet. In a week, we’ll have a chance to set the record straight. We played well and dominated.” said Moting.
However Paris Saint-Germain Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino commented on PSG brilliant performance saying that his side performed well using counterattack tactics.
The former Tottenham Hotspur Coach hailed PSG success adding that it was a great achievement for his side to score three goals against the best team in Europe[Bayern] while emphasizing that they were now focusing on the penultimate encounter to be played Tuesday next week.
“The team played very well today. We went on the counterattack and were incredibly clinical. To score three goals against such a good team is enormously difficult. So a big congratulation to my players. Our plan worked, but we also had that necessary slice of luck. It’s a very positive result, even though everything is still wide open. We have to give our all on Tuesday.” He said.
PSG forward Kylian Mbappe also said both teams had a fantastic performance despite that PSG converted their chances to goals and managed to secure a win.
“It was efficiency of the two sides that tipped the balance. We converted all our chances and of course we were a bit lucky at the other end because Bayern had a lot of chances.” Said Mbappe.
More so Paris Saint Germain midfielder Julian Draxler said Bayern was good but his side was smart in scoring goals upfront adding that the second leg will be a tight fixture.
“We scored the goals at the right times. Bayern had more of the game. We were very effective up front. It was already very difficult and we were chasing back a lot. But we have the quality to score the goals up front. It was a good first step. But you saw Bayern’s quality. It will be a very tough second leg.” He said.
Last year PSG lost in the finals to Bayern, despite that the Bundesliga giants didn’t look like their usual best but they still managed to tick the scoreboard, courtesy of Kingsley Coman who pounced on the ball from Joshua Kimmich, and Keylor Navas could do nothing about it.
Kylian Mbappe had some chances too which he would’ve scored on any other day but luck was simply not in their favor that day. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, had some promising, devastating, and exceptional performances on the road, the highlight being the 8-2 demolition of Barcelona
Meanwhile Bayern and PSG will meet next week Tuesday for their next encounter and the successful team will proceed to the semi finals.
