Dayot Upamecano said Bayern Munich are going to the Parc des Princes to win, not to relive November. The Bayern defender said Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain is a completely different match from their earlier meeting, and that his team has put the past aside.
“It’s a big game for us, we’re totally focused on our game. Of course, we want to win here at the Parc des Princes. PSG have great players and a superb squad. But we’re totally focused on our game and we want to win,” Upamecano said. He added that Bayern have worked with Vincent Kompany all season and have absorbed everything the coach has taught them, saying the team’s mentality will not change even with Kompany suspended and absent from the sideline.
The first leg in Paris puts immediate pressure on both sides, but Upamecano’s words were less about anxiety than certainty. Bayern have already played PSG before this semifinal, and he said the bigger stage changes everything. “We’ve worked with him all season. We have internalized everything. Our mentality will not change just because he is not on the sidelines,” he said, underlining how central Kompany’s influence remains as Bayern try to seize control of the tie away from home.
The matchup also carries a personal edge. Upamecano said he and Ousmane Dembélé come from the same city and have faced each other before, but called this meeting different because it comes in the Champions League semifinal. He described Dembélé as a player who gets the ball all over the pitch, and said PSG are far more than one star, calling them a very complete team. That makes the duel between Bayern’s back line and PSG’s attack one of the night’s defining tests.
Upamecano also had praise for Michael Olise, the Bayern winger whose pace and control have drawn attention inside the club. In a separate conversation, Upamecano said Olise is incredibly difficult to defend against in training, called him his neighbor, and said he is happy to have him as both a Bayern teammate and a national team colleague. That kind of familiarity, he suggested, is part of what makes Bayern’s squad tick as the knockout stage tightens.
For Upamecano, the bigger message was simpler. He said he is totally happy at FC Bayern and did not consider joining PSG before extending his contract in Munich. Bayern’s task now is to turn that loyalty into a result in Paris, where the margin for error is thin and the reward for a strong first leg could shape the entire semifinal.
