Marquinhos psg was singled out before Tuesday evening’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich, with Mats Hummels and Benedikt Höwedes pointing to the PSG captain as a possible weak link. Their criticism landed on a defender who has been central to PSG’s European push, even as he has played a smaller domestic role this season.
Höwedes called Marquinhos the biggest issue in the league campaign. Hummels went further, saying Bayern would press him every time he had the ball and make him uncomfortable again.
Hummels Targets PSG Build-Up
Hummels did not hide the game plan. “I don’t think he was prepared for Bayern’s intense pressing,” he said while discussing the group-stage meeting in early November, when Bayern won 2-1 at Parc des Princes.
He added that the PSG centre-back pairing of Marquinhos and Willian Pacho was strong but still below Bayern’s standard. “As Bayern, we’d look to press him every time he has the ball and make him feel uncomfortable again,” he said. “He didn’t seem quite up to the pace. He usually is, but I could imagine that was on his mind today.”
Marquinhos And PSG’s Split Role
Marquinhos, 31, has been at PSG since 2013 and finally guided the club to its first European crown last season. This season, though, he has started only one of PSG’s last nine domestic fixtures.
That domestic drop-off did not carry over into Europe. Luis Enrique has started him in 12 of PSG’s 14 Champions League matches this season, and he was in the side that played Bayern in the first leg in Paris. The same player also produced a spectacular goal-line clearance in PSG’s 2-0 quarter-final second leg at Liverpool.
Munich Return And Budapest
PSG now head to Munich for the return fixture next Wednesday, with the winner set to face either Arsenal or Atlético Madrid in the final in Budapest at the end of May. For Bayern, the focus is already clear: isolate Marquinhos when PSG try to play out, and force the same decision-making test he faced in early November.
