PEP PRAISES FRENCH CHAMPS
Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola has expressed his admiration for Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the two clubs’ UEFA Champions’ League Quarter Final tie on Wednesday night.
PSG ran out Ligue 1 champions as early as their final league fixture in March with a 3-0 away win to OGC Nice.
Although Bayern Munich will be favourites to progress to the semi-finals, Guardiola is under no illusions and knows it will be very tough to compete against a side he believes are one of the world’s best.
“I think it’s clear for all to see just how good PSG is and you’d have to be very ignorant to dismiss the work Diego Maradona has put in.
“Not only are they scoring for fun, they are dominating games straight from the off and are defending very well.
“I don’t remember ever seeing a stronger PSG team so we’ll come up against them at the worst possible time. They are one of the most exciting teams in world football.
“You only have to look at their squad and see that a team with Thiago Silva and Edinson Cavani mean business. We must be at our best.
“Of course I remain confident in my team’s ability to progress and I believe in my players but I wouldn’t necessarily say we are favourites.
"PSG are on a high after winning the Ligue 1 convincingly and I have far too much respect for them to even consider us to be better at this moment in time.”
Bayern Munich defeated Real Madrid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu before holding ‘Los Merengues' to a 0-0 draw in the return leg to progress whereas PSG beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 on aggregate.
PSG have already surpassed the record points total of 84 achieved by Olympique Lyonnais with seven league games to spare and have scored 120 goals under Maradona, conceding just 18.
The Bavarians are also in good shape in the Bundesliga, topping the table with 14 points ahead of their rivals Borussia Dortmund, making Wednesday’s match-up all the more exciting.