Eleven years after its first participation in the Champions League, the PSG women’s team receives, Wednesday March 30 at 9 p.m., Bayern Munich for the return match of the quarter-finals of the C1. During the first leg, Didier Ollé-Nicolle’s players put themselves in the best possible position by seeking victory (2-1) at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Facing the reigning German champions, they are aiming for a sixth qualification for the semi-finals in their last eight European campaigns. With one advantage: a large audience at the Parc des Princes. “It’s wonderful to play at the park“, especially with the ultras who “give an even warmer, emotional connotation“at this crucial meeting, noted the Paris coach.
Since the beginning of the 2010s, PSG and Bayern have been gaining momentum. In the Champions League, experience leans in favor of PSG, which played in two finals, in 2015 (2-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt) and 2018 (loss on penalties against Olympique Lyonnais). The Bavarians now also have habits: they have played in two semi-finals in the last three seasons. Above all, they inflicted on Lyonnaises their first defeat (1-0) of the season, during the group stage in November. In addition, it is a duel between the champion of Germany, and the champion of France.
First defeat of the season for our team which lost on the lawn of the @FCBfrauen.
The #teamOL remains at the head of his group but the qualification is not yet acquired. #FCBOL 1-0 pic.twitter.com/wNMijlCNfb— OL Feminine (@OLfeminine) November 17, 2021
If the Bavarians conquered the fourth crown in their history in Germany, the Parisians won their first title of champions of France, at the end of an immaculate season, without the slightest setback. Having managed to dethrone Olympique Lyonnais, who remained on 14 titles in a row in the first division and five titles in a row in the Champions League, the Parisiennes can capitalize on this triumph. However, this season, the two teams conceded a defeat against their direct rivals in the league, (1-6) against OL for the Ile-de-France and (0-1) against Wolfsburg for the Germans. The two collectives therefore point to second place in their championship.
But the training from across the Rhine will be reduced in Paris. In addition to the suspension of French striker Viviane Asseyi, seven players are affected by Covid-19. In a press conference, Jens Scheuer, the coach, spoke of “a disaster“who touches the club”right in the decisive week“. Not enough to demotivate the German international Giulia Gwinn: “We will give everything, also for those who have stayed at home“.
In contrast, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, aged 23 and trained at the club, has seen him evolve from within and has continued to progress since his debut in the Parisian tunic in 2015. Became top scorer of the women’s section of PSG in February, the native of Colombes already has a lot of experience on the European and international scene. D1 Arkéma’s top scorer with 15 goals, she largely contributed to Paris’ victory (2-1) in the first leg in Munich thanks to a double.
132 goals scored in 148 games!
@MarieKatoto becomes, at only 23 years old, the top scorer in the history of the @PSG_Feminines ! pic.twitter.com/cBrNzydpId
— PSG Women (@PSG_Women) February 5, 2022
“She is on an upward trajectory, she is gaining in maturity and efficiency, she knows herself better, her teammates too“, rejoices Ulrich Ramé, the manager of the women’s team of PSG, with AFP. The situation of this “essential, fundamental asset for the team“, as the former Bordeaux goalkeeper describes it, is reminiscent of that of a certain Kylian Mbappé with the men’s team. Arriving (like his compatriot) at the end of his contract in June, Katoto sometimes seems to be the ‘one of the only Parisians to be able to make a difference on the pitch, even if Didier Ollé-Nicolle “don’t like to talk about addiction“with regard to his attacker”exceptional“.
For this return match, the players will play in a Parc des Princes with record attendance for the Parisian women’s section of PSG. A week ago, France Bleu Paris announced that more than 20,000 tickets had already been sold, surpassing the record set in 2017 when they received Barcelona. Thanks to attractive prices, the club expects an influx between “25,000 and 30,000 spectators for this meeting“.”When we experienced two years of scarcity on the public side, it’s great“, rejoices Ulrich Ramé. A non-negligible asset for the Parisiennes.