PSG manager Christophe Galtier reveals their game plan was to play defensively vs. Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich got the better of Paris Saint-Germain, winning 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 thanks to a second half goal from Kingsley Coman, who used to play for the Parisians earlier in his career. Of course, Bayern were perhaps beneficiaries to Kylian Mbappe only being able to play a matter of twenty or so minutes as he’d been working his way back from a hamstring injury, but Bayern still did their part to keep both Neymar Jr and Lionel Messi at bay.

On the overall balance, Bayern out-shot PSG 18-9 and register 7 shots on frame to PSG’s 4. Not to mention, most of PSG’s chances came after Mbappe’s introduction midway through the second half. Bayern had more chances and could’ve very easily gotten away from the French capital with more than just one goal, but they weren’t able to capitalize on a handful of opportunities in either half.

For leg 2, PSG will more than likely have Mbappe available from the start, which will be an added worry for Bayern, but Christophe Galtier did recently reveal that his game plan for the rist leg was all about containing Bayern’s attack. “The game plan was dictated by the personnel available. The circumstances meant that I saw no other way than to try to contain Bayern until we enter a second phase when Kylian comes on,” he explained in the press conference ahead of PSG’s Ligue 1 weekend matchup against Lille (via @iMiaSanMia).

He added that he wants to see a far more attacking PSG in the second leg, knowing how much Bayern had his side on the back foot in the opening 60 minutes of the first leg. “f you think I enjoyed watching my team against Bayern for the first 60 minutes, then you’re disrespecting me. PSG must play attacking, attractive football, not spectacular but effective. And if the players can bring entertainment, we’ll not deprive ourselves of it,” he said.

For Bayern, they’ll be without Benjamin Pavard, who was shown his second yellow card of the first leg after a sliding challenge on Messi, but Julian Nagelsmann can take solace in the fact that Noussair Mazraoui has resumed ball training for the first time since recovering from his bout of pericarditis. It’s unclear at this point whether or not he’ll be available for the second leg, but depending on whether Nagelsmann chooses to deploy a back three or four system, he has other options available.