Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain are preparing for the continental challenge that faces them in the Champions League. On March 8, the French and German champions will meet in Munich, with a local advantage after the goal scored by Coman in the first leg in the Parc des Princes. Meanwhile they become strong in domestic competitions. PSG sufficiently paid for the visit to the dentist that always means going to the Vélodrome de Marseille. Two connections between Mbappé and Messi, with a goal and an assist for each one, laminated Olympique in two sparks before the break that penalized a risky plan that left large estates behind. Mbappé exploited them, again at the beginning of the second half, to seal the review (0-3) after another delicious pass from the Argentine and become the top scorer in the history of PSG with the round figure of 200 goals. Gone is Cavani. Messi, for his part, converted his 700th goal between Barcelona and the Parisian team.
The victory is gold for the Parisians in a border match in which the defeat left them just two points above the rival and the victory now distances them by eight. Monaco and Lens are already ten. This time Luis Campos, the sports director, gave out hugs on the pitch as soon as the game was over. “We are consolidating a solid defensive line to give the players up front peace of mind,” said Sergio Ramos, an excellent leader of PSG’s defense.
In Germany, clueless as it was in the Bundesliga after adding 9 points out of 18 possible in the last six games, Bayern received Unión Berlin this Sunday with the need to win to recover the leadership in which Borussia Dortmund had installed hours before , winner at Hoffenheim. The day had begun in an unusual scenario of equality, with six teams barely separated by five points and a triple tie at the head with the Berlin team as an unexpected guest. Bayern resolved the stake as usual, tremendously (3-0): in the last quarter of an hour before the break they scored three goals and turned the second half into a process in which they found space to reactivate Sadio Mané, who reappeared after three and a half months injured.
Bayern’s superiority did not refer to equality in the classification at all. The Bavarian champion played in the opposite field, collected passes, recovered balls, crossed them and finished them off. In those fights, the Cameroonian veteran Choupo-Moting was exhibited, a hard worker from the area to whom Lewandowski’s departure and Mané’s problems have made him go from secondary to protagonist. In the first role he had left a slight trace of his trade at Paris Saint-Germain, who rescued him after a disastrous campaign at Stoke City, including relegation. Back in the Bundesliga, in which he had built his career in destinations such as Hamburg, Nuremberg, Mainz and especially Schalke 04, he lives a second youth. In twelve of the last games he has played, he left his scoring record in eight. He scored the goal that opened Bayern’s victory against Unión Berlin, a classic nine-point front after rising above his marker.
Living as a striker at Bayern is a joy for a goalkeeper because nutrition never fails. Müller still has a battery, Musiala is a delight and if Coman leaves, Gnabry enters. Now Mané also arrives. Nagelsmann prepares the arsenal to finish blowing up PSG, which shelters with Mbappé and Messi while awaiting news about Neymar’s damaged ankle. The one who will surely not be at the Munich event is the defender Kimpembe, who left the pitch at the Vélodrome on a stretcher with an injury that did not look good.
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