Julian Nagelsmann fires back at Kylian Mbappe jibe
By Tom Gott
Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann has warned Kylian Mbappe to prepare for a battle when Paris Saint-Germain travel to Germany for the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on March 8.
Mbappe was only fit enough for a place on the bench in the first leg and was unable to prevent his side from falling to a 1-0 defeat, although he did see two goals chalked off for offside when he entered the game late on.
Clearly full of confidence after his impactful cameo, Mbappe claimed that Bayern 'are not comfortable' when PSG play their free-flowing, attacking football.
Asked for a response, Nagelsmann urged Mbappe to look closer at PSG's defence before questioning Bayern's performance.
"Mbappe said they can hurt us if they have the ball and play attacking football, but it's the same the other way around," he told a press conference.
"We will certainly not sit back in the second leg."
PSG will travel to Munich needing at least one goal to cancel out Bayern's strike from the first leg if they are to keep their Champions League dream alive, although the Bundesliga side are yet to lose at home all season.
Christophe Galtier's team, on the other hand, are now on a run of three straight defeats across all competitions and have already lost five games in 2023. For comparison, PSG only tasted defeat five times across the entirety of 2022, including the last 16 elimination at the hands of Real Madrid.
Injuries have been a major problem for PSG recently but Mbappe's return, coupled with the recent comeback of Lionel Messi, should give Galtier's side enough firepower to end their slump soon.