Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany has stated that Bayern only have a clear “mission is to win” when they face Paris Saint-Germain, as they attempt to recover from their deficit in the Champions League semi-final.
The first leg between these two European powerhouses was a thrilling encounter, ending 5-4 in PSG’s favor, with Ousmane Dembele scoring the decisive goal.
That match became the highest-scoring European Cup semi-final since Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Rangers 6-3 in the 1959-60 season—a tie that ended 12-4 overall for the German side.
Kompany’s team now need a victory by at least two goals to advance directly to the final, while a one-goal win would only push the game into extra time.
Historically, Bayern have managed to come back from a first-leg loss in four out of 16 Champions League ties (since 1992-93), though none of those recoveries happened at the semi-final stage. In fact, they have been knocked out five times in such scenarios.
Only Real Madrid (18) have reached more European Cup/Champions League finals than Bayern, who are aiming for their 12th appearance—currently tied with AC Milan on 11.
Kompany emphasized that Bayern’s only concern ahead of the second leg at Allianz Arena is securing a win.
“I don’t know if we should react to what people are saying about our playing philosophy,” Kompany said.
“The mission is to win the match, that’s all that matters. We want to win this match.
“We have ideas on how to achieve this, and we’ve won a lot of matches, but so have PSG; they even won the Champions League last year.
“I don’t want to talk about philosophy; for me, the objective is to win this match. We’ve won a lot of matches and titles, PSG too. The most important thing is to score one more goal than the opponent to win the match.”
This fixture features the top two scoring teams in this season’s Champions League, with PSG scoring 43 goals and Bayern close behind with 42.
Bayern have netted 20 of those goals during the knockout rounds, averaging four per game—the highest rate recorded since 1992-93.
PSG, on the other hand, have scored 22 goals in seven knockout matches. Only the Parisians themselves exceeded that tally in a single campaign, with 24 last season.
When asked about dealing with PSG’s attacking strength, Kompany said: “It’s the highest level.
“Sometimes you have good days, sometimes bad days. We’ve played against each other four times; it was always close, sometimes the defenders had the upper hand and sometimes the attackers.
“We have to be fully switched on for 90 minutes.”
