Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann has admitted that Paris Saint-Germain woke up after Kylian Mbappe was subbed into the game. The German believes the striker is capable of singlehandedly changing the outcome of a match.
PSG had Mbappe on the bench at the start of the match as he was just making a return from injury. The forward came on in the 57th minute and had two goals disallowed for offside in their 1-0 defeat.
Nagelsmann admitted that he was awestruck by Mbappe and claimed that the striker could change any match by himself. The Bayern Munich manager went on to reveal that he will be making plans to stop the PSG star in the second leg. He told the media after the win at the Parc des Princes:
"Mbappe can change any match by himself. PSG woke up when he was subbed on. They are better with Mbappe than without him. In the second leg, we'll have good ideas to counter him and can hurt them in attack. It's clear that Mbappe can unlock any game."
Ahead of the match, Nagelsmann was confident of getting a result and claimed he was preparing his team with the mindset that Messi and Mbappe would be playing. Both PSG stars were doubtful to feature in the clash due to injuries. Nagelsmann said:
"There's a lot of pressure on both teams. PSG are better with (Lionel) Messi and (Kylian) Mbappe than without them. But they also have good replacements. They have a deep squad. I'll prepare the team as if they were playing"
PSG star Kylian Mbappe confident of beating Bayern Munich
Kylian Mbappe was confident of his team's chances after the 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash. The Frenchman believes that the Bundesliga side are uncomfortable when attacked and wants his side to do it more often in the second leg.
Speaking to Canal+ after the loss, Kylian Mbappe said:
"Everyone needs to be healthy, sleep well, eat well. We can do something there. If we are more offensive, they are uncomfortable. Let's quickly move on and go again."
Bayern Munich host PSG on March 8th for the second leg at the Allianz Arena.