If you only looked at current form, it would be rather difficult to guess that Bayern Munich had lost to both Aston Villa and Barcelona in the Champions League earlier in the season, but that is a matter a fact despite how high they are currently flying. Since Vincent Kompany’s side lost 4-1 at Barcelona back at the end of October, they have won six matches straight across all competitions, keeping six clean sheets in the process.
From the consecutive wins against VfL Bochum, Mainz, Union Berlin, Benfica, St. Pauli, and Augsburg, Bayern has outscored said opponents 17-0 and have looked a completely revitalized, high-firing side after their two slip-ups in Europe. They are now entering their most challenging stretch of the season yet with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Bayer Leverkusen in the next round of the DFB-Pokal, and then Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. They also play RB Leipzig on the last Bundesliga match day of 2024.
With PSG in Europe being the first hurdle to clear of this difficult stretch for Bayern, center back Dayot Upamecano, who’s partnership with Kim min-Jae continues to get more and more solid this season, stressed the importance of needing a result against the reigning Ligue 1 champions, who have also struggled in Europe this season.
“It’s going to be a very important game for us because if you look at the table, it’s not great – we’re not where we want to be. We’re playing at home. It’ll be a good game and I hope we’ll win,” Upamecano stressed in an interview with French outlet Telefoot (via @iMiaSanMia).
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Bayern currently sit in the 17th spot in the Champions League table, which is only good enough to secure a playoff spot for the knockout stages, while PSG sit in the 25th spot, just as desperate for a win. With the way the format has been changed, Bayern could jump into the automatic qualification spots depending how other results go, but anything less than a win could likewise prove to be just as problematic.
Personally, for Upamecano, he will be squaring off against a handful of French compatriots with the duel against PSG. When he was asked whether or he has already communicated with any of said compatriots in the days leading up to the match, he replied, “not yet, but I’ll call Ousmane [Dembélé] and we’ll speak before and after the game.”
