Preview: Bayern face off against Champions League winners PSG

Here are the most important facts you need to know for the exciting clash between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Bayern Munich will face off against the current Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. Little side note: since we are in the knockout-stages of the tournament, every game could be the last game in club legend’s Thomas Müller’s career at Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians were able to win 4 out of their last 5 matchups against PSG, with their last win coming in the group-stage of the 2024/25 Champions League season – Minjae Kim’s goal was enough to get the victory over the Parisians.

When it comes to current form, both teams have played a nearly perfect Club World Cup campaign so far:

• Bayern have beaten Auckland City convincingly (10-0), were able to hold back Boca Juniors (2-1), but lost to Benfica (0-1) in the group-stage; however, they bounced back with a 4-2 victory over Flamengo to qualify for the quarter-finals.
• PSG dominated Atlético Madrid (4-0), lost surprisingly against Botafogo (0-1), but returned with back-to-back wins aginst Seattle (2-0) and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami (4-0) in order to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Bayern’s Michael Olise is currently one of, if not the best player of the Club World Cup: the 23-year-old has the most goal contributions (5: 3 goals, 2 assists) out of any player in the tournament.

On PSG’s side, as you would expect at the moment, there is no player to completely stand out – it’s the whole team, that just works. Hakimi running the defense (and attack), Vitinha controlling the midfield, Kvaratskhelia as a treat for all dribbling enthusiasts – if they don’t happen to have a bad day like they did against Botafogo, Paris remain to be a joy to watch.

Fun fact: The referee of this match will be Anthony Taylor – the man, who one year ago, exactly to the day and time, made the controversial decision to not award Germany a penalty against Spain in the 2024 EUROS, after Marc Cucurella was hit with the ball on his arm. Germany and Bayern fans were very fast to point that coincidence out online.

The team from Munich could really do with some good news at the moment, as their ongoing search for a left winger / attacking player seems to have taken a toll on the Bayern bosses – former club president Uli Hoeneß for example was in a hectic media battle with German football pundits over the last week.

PSG on the other hand have entered a phase in their club history, which they have never experienced before: they are the reigning UEFA Champions League champions – and they will be eager to demonstrate their overall abilities in these kind of matches, against Europe’s best teams.

Whoever wins this matchup is going to come up against the winner of the match Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final of the Club World Cup.