football | Monday, February 13, 2023 10:25 AM

Silvestre: Lewandowski Loss Will Hurt Bayern Against PSG

Devang Prasad

The Champions League returns this week with a blockbuster tie on the cards Paris Saint-Germain host Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Round of 16.

Both teams are on top of their respective leagues but their form since club football resumed after the World Cup, has been iffy. To discuss how this game could pan out, we talked to former French international and Champions League winner, Mikael Silvestre.

In this article:

Hard to pick a winner as both sides aren’t in top form
Individual moments to decide the game – PSG have an edge there
This could be the year when a new side wins the Bundesliga
Difficult for Bremen to finish in a Conference League spot – their focus is on safety

Hard to pick a winner as both sides aren’t in top form

As per Silvestre, it is very hard to pick a winner considering both sides’ form. Le Parisien have lost two in a row, getting knocked out of the Coupe de France by Marseille and then losing to Monaco. Die Roten meanwhile, have won two in a row but that was preceded by three straight draws.

“It’s a tough call at the moment.”Since the new year, post World Cup, PSG have not been so great. But on the other side, Bayern Munich seems to have the same issue, in terms of results, in terms of content, not great. The confidence is not great on both sides.”

Silvestre also points out that PSG do have great individual quality but they have to gel together to stand a chance of winning.

“Picking a winner right now is difficult but I think it will be a close result. Paris has Neymar, Mbappe and Messi but collectively they have issues to fix. Bayern Munich in the same situation.”

“I think it would be a close battle, in both ties.”

Individual moments to decide the game – PSG have an edge there

The former Manchester United and Arsenal defender believes that moments of individual brilliance could decide the outcome in this matchup. He already mentioned the likes of Messi and Neymar for PSG and for Bayern, he thinks that Thomas Muller or Jamal Musiala could be key players.

“I think yes, the game will be won or lost on individual moments.”

“It could be that or it could be Thomas Muller, with assist no. 231 (laughs), an unbelievable statistic. Or it could be a magic moment from Musiala.”

He adds that even though Bayern Munich have quality at the back, the players still need to play more together to form an understanding.

“I think also, Bayern Munich, defensively, okay they got Cancelo and Daley Blind, and Upamecano is in good shape. But they still have to play games together, get the understanding.”

Silvestre finally says he would pick PSG as Bayern do not have Robert Lewandowski in their ranks anymore.

“But they don’t have Lewandowski anymore. I would pick Paris over Bayern Munich.”

This could be the year when a new side wins the Bundesliga

We also talked about the current Bundesliga season and how Silvestre, who played for Werder Bremen, thinks it could pan out.

The Frenchman would love to see a new team win the Bundesliga and commented that it has been a close race so far. Bayern are currently on top but they only have a one-point cushion over second placed Union Berlin and two points over third-placed Borussia Dortmund.

“This could be the year we see a different team winning the title. Why not?”

“But, there are many teams closer to them rather than it being a two-horse race, which is good for the Bundesliga.”

He added that if Bayern Munich have the quality to retain their

“They have issues but there’s enough quality in that team that if they concentrate and play together, they should be able to retain the title.”

Difficult for Bremen to finish in a Conference League spot – their focus is on safety

Silvestre’s former side, Werder Bremen, currently are ninth in the Bundesliga, eight points away from sixth-placed Frankfurt who currently occupy the Bundesliga’s Conference League spot.

The French defender doesn’t think that Bremen will end up in a Conference League spot, pointing to their lack of recruitment as a major factor. He, however, thinks that Bremen will be happy being in the top half this season and then build for improvement next season.

“I think it will be difficult to finish in a Conference League spot because I don’t think they bought anybody.”

“I think they’ll be happy to be in the top half of the table to stabilise the club and financially be able to bolster the team for next season.”

He finished by saying that European qualification is clearly not Bremen’s ambition this season but it would be an amazing achievement.

“The ambition is clearly not Europe for Bremen this season. It would be an amazing achievement but right now they’re focusing on safety first, and then continue the journey to the top of the table.”