Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman feels PSG will still be a force to be reckoned with
Another chapter in the recent history between Bayern Munich in Paris Saint-Germain in European competition was written this week, and Bayern came out victorious this time by virtue of a 1-0 win in Paris and a 2-0 win in Munich in the Champions League round of 16. Kylian Mbappe missed the first half of the first leg and Neymar Jr. was out for the second leg, while Marquinhos came off in the first half of the second leg, but there can still be no denying how deserving Bayern was to go through in the tie for the way they performed over the two legs.
It was PSG product Kingsley Coman who scored the lone goal in the first leg at the Parc des Princes and chose not to celebrate against his former club out of respect. After the second leg victory, the French winger tried to put his finger on what, exactly, has been going wrong for the Ligue 1 giants in European competition. After all, the Qatari takeover of the club had success in Europe as it’s main, driving goal, but they’ve still failed to win a European title since the takeover occurred.
“It’s difficult to say, there are small details. The difference is undoubtedly linked to the fact that Bayern has been a big club for many years and that Europe is inscribed in its DNA,” Coman explained to French outlet RMC Sport. It’s consistent with the adage that has been touted with PSG just being a group of talented individuals as opposed to a tightly-knit, well-oiled team that works very well together. PSG has long since adopted a model of buying talent rather than developing it from a grassroots level and it hasn’t yielded the level of success they’ve been striving for in European competition.
Still, though, Coman believes PSG is still a highly successful club that is only one or two pieces away from going the distance in Europe. “Paris is on the way, they’ve been among the European top for a few years, they still go far in the Champions League and are a title contender. Sometimes you just have to let time do its work and things will work out for Paris,” he said.
There’s certainly a great deal of respect from Coman towards his former club, but from the outside looking in, questions are already being asked. Christophe Galtier’s future with the club is in serious doubt after this season, Lionel Messi’s contract expires in the summer, and the club will more than likely try to sell Neymar again. Not to mention, Mbappe only has one year left on his contract and had already heavily teased a move to Real Madrid last summer. It’s tough to see the club staying intact enough to win the Champions League any time soon.
