Bayern Munich center-back Dayot Upamecano is ready to square off with Paris Saint Germain for another intense bout in the Champions League.
“It’s a big game for us, we’re totally focused on our game. Of course, we want to win here at the Parc des Princes. PSG have great players and a superb squad. But we’re totally focused on our game and we want to win,” said Upamecano (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “It’s a completely different game (than in November), a Champions League semi-final. We’re not looking
at the past and are fully focused. We want to win both games and will do everything to win here tomorrow.”
Bayern Munich, of course, will be without manager Vincent Kompany, who is suspended. Upamecano thinks that the Bavarians have learned enough from the head coach to make up for his absence.
“We’ve worked with him all season. We have internalized everything. Our mentality will not change just because he is not on the sidelines,” Kompany said.
One of the key matchups in the game for Upamecano is against his childhood pal, Ousmane Dembélé. Upamecano is looking forward to the challenge.
“We both come from the same city. It’s incredible that we’re meeting again tomorrow in the Champions League semifinal. Of course, we’ve played against each other before, but tomorrow is a different game. Each of us is ready to fight for his team,” said Upamecano. “We’ve already played against Paris and we know them. It’s very difficult. Ousmane gets the ball all over the pitch. It’s a bit like us with Harry. They try to destabilize the opponent with a lot of movement. We’ll try to deal with that. They have such a good team, they don’t just have Ousmane, but many other players. They’re a very complete team.”
Upamecano also noted that working against Michael Olise in training can help prepare him for players like Dembélé.
“I have to defend against (Olise) in training, and it’s incredibly difficult. He can do almost everything with the ball. When he has the ball, he thinks he can just get past me. He works incredibly hard. He’s my neighbor. When I tell him what he has to do after training, he says he’ll still be working. He always wants to improve. I’m happy to be playing with him in the national team and at Bayern,” said Upamecano.
Finally, Upamecano was asked if he had considered joining PSG before inking his contract extension at Bayern Munich. The Frenchman swatted away that assertion.
“No – I’m now at FC Bayern, one of the best clubs in the world. I’m totally happy to be here,” said Upamecano.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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