In typical fashion, German newspaper Bild didn’t mince their words when it came to the topic of PSG’s shock defeat to Strasbourg at the weekend. In a preview to their coming Champions League clash at the Allianz Arena this week, the newspaper’s describe the result as “embarrassing.”
If that sounds a little pompous from the German media then that’s because it is. Not only do the country’s biggest club, Bayern Munich, have their mojo back under Jupp Heynckes but the narrative surrounding the Bundesliga champions has very much returned to if or when the next European Cup will be coming back to Munich.
Although such debate may be no more than hyperbole, there is some truth to the matter of Bayern’s resurgence. Since Heynckes returned to the club the Bavarians have only lost one game and when they host the Parisians on Wednesday it’ll be the first, genuine test of the season for Neymar & Co.
Of course, the two sides have already locked horns this season. Although Bayern played better than the scoreline ultimately suggested, a 3-0 win for PSG at the Parc des Princes perhaps concluded the French side had already leapfrogged their German counterparts in the hierarchy of European football. However, it’s not really as simple as that.
At the time Bayern were still under the stumbling stewardship of Carlo Ancelotti. Lacklustre performances and downright defeats in Europe and in the Bundesliga had plunged the club into something of a crisis. Although PSG will face the same group of players that they thumped convincingly in September, the difference between the squad then and now is as clear as night and day.
Unai Emery’s side may have just slipped on a domestic banana skin, but there is something to be said for the manner in which this star-studded side haven’t been truly tested yet this season. Convincing wins over Celtic, Anderlecht and an undefeated domestic run (until the weekend’s result) only go so far as to suggesting what they can do in the latter stages of the Champions League.
Indeed, it will be a rejuvenated Bayern side that have the unquestionable desire to right the wrongs they put forth in Paris a few months ago that can finally offer that test. If PSG want to be considered among the super clubs and proposed favourites for European football’s greatest prize they have to beat the very best. And at the Allianz Arena exactly that awaits them.
