Bayern Munich’s perfect record in the Champions League group stage, according to Julian Nagelsmann, was “not rewarded” by being paired with Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
With victories over Inter and Barcelona at home and away, Nagelsmann’s team finished first in Group C and made competition history by becoming the first team to win all six of its group games in consecutive seasons.
Despite this, Bayern was drawn against PSG, the French champions, who feature players like Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi in their lineup.
Nagelsmann’s reaction
Nagelsmann told reporters that he feels his team hasn’t reaped the full rewards for its exploits during the group stage.
He said: “PSG are a difficult opponent.
“The perfect group phase is not rewarded with [drawing that opponent] – they have a lot of world-class players just like we do.
“But this is the Champions League, so it’s normal that there are no easy opponents in the round of 16.”
PSG won four and drew two of their games during the group stage to go undefeated.
However, thanks to Benfica’s impressive 6-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa on the penultimate matchday, Christophe Galtier’s club had first place taken away from them because of the Portuguese team’s superior away goal total.
Oliver Kahn, the CEO of Bayern also reacts
Oliver Kahn, the CEO of Bayern, reiterated Nagelsmann’s feelings regarding the draw’s difficulty but also expressed his excitement for seeing two of Europe’s top clubs square off in a rematch of the 2019–20 final, which the Bavarian team won 1-0 courtesy to a goal from Kingsley Coman.
“We can look forward to two great games with the best players in Europe,” Kahn told Sky. “I think these will be two highly attractive games.”
