Khvicha Kvaratskhelia expects another hard night when Paris Saint-Germain meet Bayern Munich, after saying the German club were better in the teams’ November 4 clash and that PSG did not take enough from a match they still might have won. Bayern beat PSG 2-1 that day despite losing Luis Díaz to a red card right before halftime and playing more than half the game with 10 men.
The PSG forward did not dress up the memory of that result. He said Bayern were in better form and that his team, even with injuries, were not as good in the first meeting. He added that PSG showed in the second half that they could trouble anyone and had the chance to beat Bayern, but could not score enough goals to finish the job.
That history matters because the two clubs are set to meet for the fourth consecutive calendar year, and Bayern are again coming in as the side with momentum. Kvaratskhelia said PSG know they can compete with anyone, but only if they deliver from the first whistle and make their moments count. The margin in Munich was small on the scoreboard and wide in the details.
Manuel Neuer is one of the details Kvaratskhelia singled out. He called the Bayern goalkeeper a legend and said PSG have already scored against him before and need to do it again. There is no special training plan for facing Neuer, he said, only the usual work and the belief that PSG will try to score.
The tension in this matchup is familiar: Bayern’s form and control against PSG’s confidence that they can still turn a game in a few minutes. On November 4, the German side held on with 10 men for more than half the contest and still found a way to win. PSG now have the next chance to answer that result, and Kvaratskhelia has made clear he does not intend to treat it like a routine fixture.
