Paris (AFP)
Dynamic: Bayern advantage.
The success, Saturday, in Leipzig of the Bavarians (1-0) tipped the forecasts in their favor before the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League, Wednesday, against Paris SG, beaten at the same time by Lille (1-0 ).
- Consistency versus irregularity -
Chance of the calendar, Parisians and Munichers played this weekend a decisive match for the title against their closest competitor.
The similar context makes comparisons inevitable.
In this game, Paris is the big loser.
On the one hand, Neymar's teammates, disappointing, fell against Lille, who took the lead in Ligue 1, with three points ahead of PSG.
On the other, Bayern went to dismiss their runner-up Leipzig, now relegated to seven units.
"This is an important step in the quest for the title. We do not want to let go," said goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
These results confirm above all that, this season, the two top names are not connected to the same current.
Paris, which has chained, for the first time since 2007, a third consecutive defeat at home in the Championship, is in alternative mode, capable of winning in Lyon (4-2) and then losing the following day.
"This is our negative point. We had a lot of ups and downs," admitted captain Marquinhos.
Munich does not know this kind of breakdown.
A statistic raised by Opta demonstrates it: Bayern managed a 62nd game in a row on Saturday, scoring at least one goal, a record for a German club!
- Serenity against nervousness -
Without star striker Robert Lewandowski, hit in a knee and absent for around four weeks, Bayern compensated with a mind of steel.
"The state of mind and morale of my team is just amazing!"
welcomed coach Hansi Flick.
At the same time, his Parisian counterpart Mauricio Pochettino sought to explain why his players were so nervous, like Neymar, excluded for two gestures of temper.
"Managing emotion is part of life," admitted the Argentinian.
The daily Le Parisien wondered rather, Sunday, about the absence of "revolt" in a team beaten eight times this season in L1 (record of the Qatari era): "it is the most worrying. It is missing in this forming a rebellion, a non-acceptance of defeat. "
"PSG will have to correct a lot of things to believe in their chances against Bayern", summarizes the newspaper L'Équipe.
- Certainties against questions -
Three days before the shock to go (return on April 13), Bayern has a clear idea of its strengths, PSG a little less.
For Flick, the main question was how to replace Lewandowski.
If he established the former Parisian Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in Leipzig, it is rather the German international Serge Gnabry who is expected in this role on Wednesday.
For the rest, in his classic pattern, he could see that Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller were at their best, and that in the middle, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, scorer, remained indefatigable.
For 1990 world champion Lothar Matthäus, Kimmich "is the best number 6 in the world. He's still young (26) but he's a leader."
The midfield, precisely, concentrates most of the doubts on the Parisian side.
Executives Marco Verratti (Covid-19) and Leandro Paredes (suspended) will miss the call, leaving few options to the staff, especially as Danilo (calf) is uncertain.
Alongside Idrissa Gueye, Spaniard Ander Herrera, who has only had three starts in the past two months, could start.
The other gray area concerns the name of the right side.
The Italian Alessandro Florenzi, the captain at the post, was put in solitary confinement as a precaution, after having attended Verratti in the national team.
If he will be available against Bayern, "we do not know," swept Pochettino, who also wonders about the presence of striker Mauro Icardi (thigh).
The doubt is not about to dissipate.
© 2021 AFP