Hello. Rematches are one of the best things in sport, a unique pot pourri of the past, present and future. They are mainly associated with individual sports – Gatti v Ward, McEnroe v Borg, Fischer v Spassky, Creed v Balboa – but can be just as mouth-watering when two teams are involved. We’re not talking about replays but rematches, where the finalists from the previous season meet again. One team has the chance to double down on their superiority; the other wants to enjoy bit of the old rewenge, while also eliminating one of the biggest obstacles to them winning the bloody thing this time round.
PSG left Lisbon with plenty of regrets after their 1-0 defeat to Bayern in last year’s Champions League final. It was a story of missed opportunities, unseized initiatives and unpunished high lines. Now they have another chance against a Bayern side who, though still the best team in Europe, are without the injured Robert Lewandowski for both legs of this quarter-final.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team are also missing a couple of key players: Leandro Paredes is suspended for the first leg and Marco Verratti has Covid. Nor are they in the greatest form. With seven games remaining in Ligue 1, PSG are three points behind the leaders Lille, who beat them at the weekend, and have somehow managed to lose eight of their 31 league games. I wouldn’t read too much into their domestic form, though, as we all know the Champions League is the one they really want – the one thing in football that money cannot necessarily buy.
And PSG have played well in Europe this season. They recovered from a poor start to win a very difficult group that included RB Leipzig and Manchester United, and their 5-2 aggregate win over Barcelona in the last 16 looks more impressive by the week.
Bayern are cruising towards the Bundesliga title, what with this being a year that ends in a number, and have picked up where they left off last year in the Champions League. Since the start of last season, their record in this competition is as terrifying as waking up next to Leatherface: P19 W18 D1 L0 F67 A16. That includes a 7-2 (S-E-V-E-N) win away to Spurs, then managed by Pochettino. But one of the few truly tough games in that time was the final against PSG, so Bayern know they are very dangerous opponents. Scanning a teamsheet that includes the names ‘Neymar’ and ‘Mbappe’ tends to destroy any nascent complacency.
When the draw was made, Real Madrid v Liverpool stood out for many, but that was largely for historical reasons. Right here, right now, this is the big one: the tie of the round, and a rematch to savour.
Kick off 9pm in Munich and Paris, 8pm in London and Orkney.