Paris (AFP)
Winner in the first leg (3-2), Paris SG can achieve "something big" if it eliminates the ogre Bayern Munich, defending champion and revenge, Tuesday (21:00) in the quarter-finals second leg of the League champions, which Chelsea approach as a favorite against Porto.
The last square is reaching out to them: for the second year in a row, the Parisians can reach the semi-finals of the European queen event.
"It is the evening that can change everything," explains the daily Le Parisien, referring to the "positive repercussions" that a qualification would generate at the expense of "the best team in the world for over a year".
Even if Bayern, executioner of PSG in the final in August (1-0), promises a scorching second round at the Parc des Princes, several positive signals encourage the vice-champions of Europe to be optimistic.
"We are all very well, we are calm, we prepare the match calmly, assured defender Presnel Kimpembe. Of course eliminating Bayern would be something big."
Mauricio Pochettino's men seem in better shape than the Munich, weakened by many packages (Lewandowski, Tolisso, Douglas Cota, Süle, Gnabry).
The Argentinian technician, he will recover his Italians Marco Verratti and Alessandro Florenzi, absent in Bavaria because of Covid-19, as well as Leandro Paredes, suspended from the outward journey.
By adding the presence of Neymar and the excellent dynamics of Kylian Mbappé, author of three goals in his last two matches, Paris can legitimately hope to go further.
- Marquinhos package -
It would be the third time that the ambitious red and blue club would see the last four of the C1, after 1995 and 2020.
But PSG, deprived of its captain Marquinhos package, also has a history of stinging failures in the competition which requires caution.
It was the same feeling of confidence that derailed him against a diminished Manchester United team in 2019, in the eighth, at home, at the end of a scenario as unexpected as it was cruel (2-0, 1-3) .
Also, Paris remains on a series, unprecedented in the Qatari era, of three consecutive losses at home in the Championship: "a garden to re-enchant", title Tuesday L'Equipe.
Opposite, Bayern has never won in four visits to the Parc des Princes (4 defeats), but has the firm intention of defending his crown.
"I am convinced that we will pass, because we are the best team," assured midfielder Joshua Kimmich, who did not digest the scenario of the first leg, ultra dominated by Bayern (31 shots to 6).
The knife between their teeth, the Munich "want to score the first goal", as assured Thomas Müller.
"It will be very close. We have been working since September with the objective of defending our title. We feel mentally able to turn the situation around," continued the striker.
- Chelsea's efficiency -
The winner of this confrontation will play in the round following that of the duel between Manchester City and Dortmund (first leg: 2-1), which meet on Wednesday.
In the other part of the table, the suspense seems stale between Chelsea and Porto, beaten 2-0 in the first leg by the Londoners before the second round, again relocated to Seville due to health restrictions.
Titled in the Europa League in 2019, Chelsea has not seen the last four of the queen competition since 2014.
Arrived in January after being discharged from his post at PSG, coach Thomas Tuchel awakened the ambitions of the English club by relying on an iron defense and an equally impressive realism.
On the first leg, N'Golo Kanté's teammates had scored twice on their only three shots.
This aspect of the match, precisely, gives Porto a reason to hope.
The Portuguese spoiler has already created a surprise, in the previous round, against Juventus (2-1, 2-3 ap).
The qualified team will meet, in the semi-final, either Real Madrid or Liverpool.
Before the return leg in England, the team coached by Zinédine Zidane leaves favorite, driven by its success (3-1) in the first leg and its victory on Saturday against Barcelona in the La Liga clasico (2-1).
© 2021 AFP