By Linda Kerrman and Chloe Shields
Over nine years have passed since Bayern München and Paris Saint-Germain first played each other in the UEFA Women's Champions League. Seven competitive games later, the stats are fairly even, two wins for PSG, two ties and three wins for Bayern.
The floodlights of the Parc des Princes beckons once again two of the most renowned teams in the women's game for an exact rematch of last season's league phase fourth round. At this stage last time out Bayern Munich were suffering with a similarly rocky start to their continental campaign, dealt a thumping 7-1 loss against Barcelona on the opening day followed by close wins against Juventus and a last ditch victory at home against Arsenal. PSG on the other hand were at rock bottom with three big losses to Lyon, Wolfsburg and Real Madrid before their eventual loss to this week's competitors Munich, seeing them out at the league phase second from bottom.
With both teams drawing against Manchester City and Real Madrid this season, sitting right next to each other in the table on the same points and separated by only two goals, this game promises to be a close contest once again that could be instrumental in deciding whether one of these pot 1 outfits secure automatic qualification.
Linda Kerrman spoke to Bayern captain Glódís Viggósdóttir whilst Chloe Shields spoke to Joe Echegini ahead of this decisive tie.
Paris Saint Germain - Putting Last Season Firmly Behind Them
After last season’s league phase exit, pot one PSG are striving ahead in this season's UEFA Women’s Champions League, sat in 6th and looking to revamp themselves as a European team to fear. It was a disappointing season all round last time out, finishing third instead of their trademark second in the French Division 1 Féminine behind local rivals Paris FC and 19 time champion OL Lyonnes. PSG have only won their domestic league once, in 2021, with former players Diani and Katoto leading the scoring but now with a new look side, plenty of youth mixed with experience, Les Parisiennes continue to rise the ranks looking to reclaim their prominence.
This season, PSG are second in the French league, dropping all three points from a 4-0 loss to OL Lyonnes and a draw with Paris FC. In the UWCL, a 5-0 thrashing of last season's upsetters OH Leuven adds to their two draws. With massive clashes against Bayern Munich and then Chelsea on the horizon, this period could make or break PSG’s ambition to go far in the competition again.
Ahead of their game against Bayern Munich, versatile midfielder Joe Echegini discussed onfield battles, coming together as a team and the pride of playing in a Champions League night under the lights.
From college football to the world stage - Joe Echegini
Joe Echegini has only been playing professional football for three seasons, but you wouldn’t know it. Born in the Netherlands to Nigerian parents, she moved to the UK and played her youth football at the likes of Charlton Athletic and Arsenal. She took the step to play college football at Mississippi State and then Florida State, in Florida she scored 16 goals and had 5 assists in her first season, proving herself as a goalscoring threat early on.
Making the leap to professional football, she spent the end of the 2023/24 season at Italian side Juventus, bagging 10 goals in just five months before making a landmark move to PSG, becoming a regular starter in her first two seasons and she has started every UWCL game so far this campaign. It’s hard to tell what position Echegini plays, she has occupied space across the midfield and attack so when asked what position she favours she said “i’m quite fluid” but suggested “I do like playing the 8, so that requires a more defensive as well as an offensive role, but, this depends on the game, really.”
Playing for Nigeria on the International stage, she has represented the Super Falcons at four major international tournaments since her debut in 2022, scoring the winning goal in the side's 2024 WAFCON victory against Morocco.
Only playing professional football for three seasons, Echegini looks back on how her role has changed, becoming a leader and a trusted voice as this PSG side evolves into a new era. “I’ts my third year here now, I’m definitely involved into more of a leadership role, I'd say, taking ownership and accountability of the things that are happening within the team. I am 25, but I'm a part of the older group. It kind of shows the young talent that's coming through. The team has a lot of quality, so despite not making a lot of signings [in the summer], we're still able to show up. Just shows the quality that we have on the team.”
Dusting themselves off after last season’s early exit
Reflecting on what went wrong last season, Echegini sees this season as a “second chance” to look ahead and go for more. “Last year was a bit difficult for us. We didn't do as well as we would like to, we are trying to do as much as we can now to make sure that doesn't happen again, and just appreciating every game, and giving everything every game, and walking away from the fields knowing we've given 100%. There is more of a mental shift within the team that has allowed us to give everything in these games. You could see from the last game against City, where we scored in the last 3 minutes of the game. I feel like if that had been maybe last year, we would have maybe psyched out, mentally.”
Speaking more on the shift in mentality after such a successful start this season, with two draws and a win, Echegini said they “are on a high” looking forward to continuing testing themselves and knowing they can compete with the best again, putting last year's 3-1 loss to Bayern firmly behind them. “If you compare all the results, Bayern drew with Madrid and City, and so did we. So, I feel like there's no reason going into the next game thinking that we can't beat them. I think it's important to continue with the energy that we had in the last games and continue to fight. Bayern’s a big team, they've been consistent for years, and it's easy to go into the game and almost be afraid, and wanting to sit back and let them play, but it's almost what we shouldn't do, with respect to Bayern, but when you are confident and you fight as a team that anything can happen. We're working hard in training now, but we're ready.”
On Bayern Munich - Facing the European Giants
With PSG in pot one, and drawing against a pot two and three team along with fellow pot one outfit Bayern Munich, Echegini saw it as a sign that “women’s football is growing” with “every Champions League game difficult regardless of what pot you are in.”
Echegini recognised that the “midfield battle is going to be interesting” ahead of their clash with a top Bavarian side on Tuesday night. With the likes of Klara Buhl, Pernille Harder and Momoko Tanikawa to contend with, it won't be a quiet battle with Echegini knowing that PSG can’t be complacent “we know what Bayern can do. They have a lot of quality, they have a lot of experience, and if you let them, they can really hurt you.”
Echegini, though, is confident in her team's quality, able to go toe-to-toe with the best. “I feel like Bayern is very experienced, and they have a lot of quality, all over the pitch. I feel like we might, like within experience, because we do have a younger team, but we have the same quality, in my opinion. I feel like they have threats all over the field, but I think we do as well. So it's gonna be a very, very 50-50 game, to be honest.”
A Champions League night on the main stage - The Parc des Princes awaits
This isn’t PSG Féminine’s first dance at the club's main stadium this season, they hosted OL Lyonnes to the Parc des Princes for a league clash last month. Increasingly using the stadium for big games including in the Champions League, it was the same stage they faced Bayern on last time out and Echegini can’t wait for another outing under the lights, hoping to use the energy of the fans to get a result.
“Playing at Park de Prince, you can't compare it to a normal game. The stadium itself has a lot of history, the men are doing really well there, so when you step into that stadium, it comes with a standard, I wouldn't want to leave that stadium with a poor game. . We know what it takes to play at Parc de Princes. The energy is a bit more different than a normal game day, maybe it’s the atmosphere. I think there's more hunger within the team, there's more fight.”
The chance to play in the UEFA Women’s Champions League is a “proud and happy moment” for her. On her own personal relationship to the competition, Echegini spoke on the music she listens too to get herself in the game day zone "Michael Jackson at the moment, maybe Thriller” and spoke about her joy playing in the tournament heading into her 3rd season.
“I feel like I just get goosebumps when I'm walking on the field, and I'm just excited, like I'm always excited to play football, but it's almost like an honorable excitement to play in the Champions League, it's the dream, I would say, for most footballers, and I think we almost don't realize how kind of privileged we are, how lucky we are to be able to play in the Champions League.”
Les Parisiennes to Watch
PSG have a very young squad which Echegini praised for how crucial they have been this season, rising to the challenge of big European occasions and working well under the experienced leaders of the team.
On the young players coming through she highlighted a few names to look out for. “We have Lea [Morissaint]. We have Marie Estella [Lafontaine]. They're both young attacking forwards. Tara [Elimbi Gilbert], she scored the equalizer against Man City. Thiniba [Samoura], she's one of our starting center-backs. She's still young. We have a lot of young talent all over the field who are starting these games. Flo [Jourde], who's 21 years old. Merve [Kanjingaon] the right. There's half the team I've already mentioned. There's a lot of youth all over the pitch, a lot of quality all over.”
Looking at the most experienced arm of the team, Echengi reflected on how key the defensive line is for PSG, only conceding three goals so far in the league phase, the experience at the back leading the youth on the attack has been really successful for the side this season. “I feel like a lot of the communication mainly comes from the back. We have Griedge [Mbock], we have Pao [Dudek], these are players who are continuously speaking. They are the people who have probably played most Champions League games, so have the experience. It's important to have those players because they know what to do in certain moments, they know what to do when it's difficult, they know what to do when we face tougher opponents like Chelsea or Bayern to keep the team motivated, or to talk the team through. When you have those experienced players, you're able to figure things out yourself, kind of lean on each other in the tougher moments, or in the good moments.”
Bayern München - Ready to Relive Last Season’s Victory
The reigning German champions are back doing what they do best in the Bundesliga - win, with eight games, eight wins so far this season. Their European campaign, however, has been more challenging, with Bayern earning five points from their opening three matches, including a win against Benfica and draws against Manchester City and Real Madrid, the same draws that PSG have had.
Ahead of the game against Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern München captain Glódís Viggósdóttir discussed her team's ambitions, the growing competitiveness of women's football and the importance of leadership.
From a small Icelandic town to captaining Bayern to national titles - Glódís Viggósdóttir
Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir began her senior career at Icelandic side Stjarnan, before moving to Sweden to join Eskilstuna United and eventually FC Rosengård. With Rosengård, she won the Damallsvenskan, the Swedish league, in 2019, as well as two Swedish Cups.
The 31-year-old center back joined Bayern München in the summer of 2021 and has since established herself as one of the team's most important players. After winning her first Bundesliga championship in 2023, Viggósdóttir took over Bayern's captaincy from Lina Magull and has since led her team to three more Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals and three German Supercups. She is also the captain of the Icelandic national team and reached 150 caps just a few weeks ago, becoming the most capped player in the country's history.
The centre-back's UWCL journey began early on, making her debut at 16 years old with Stjarnan in 2012. Fifteen years later, she has gained plenty of European experience with Stjarnan, Rosengård and Bayern, even reaching last season's semi-finals.
Taking the next step in the Champions League
In the UWCL press conference, Bayern's captain made it clear that the team's ambition is to build on last season's European campaign. "I think as a team, obviously, we want to go even further [in the UEFA Women's Champions League] than what we did last year. We want to keep improving and we want to do better than what we did last year. I think that's always the goal."
However, Viggósdóttir believes that the increasing quality across women's football makes it more difficult, particularly as more teams are becoming competitive. "I think we've seen this year that a lot of teams are stepping up and I think in general, women's football is improving, and it's improving quickly. And I think for us, it makes it of course more difficult because more teams are getting better and are competitive."
For her own team, the key will be delivering when it matters most. "In the end, it comes down to who can perform on the days where you need the points and on the days where it matters."
The Icelandic international also reflected on Bayern's 2-2 draw against Real Madrid, admitting that the team had not started well enough and had needed Real Madrid's two goals to wake them up. She was proud of their reaction and their ability to turn the game around and she believes that the team has learnt an important lesson to avoid similar starts in the future.
A Tough Test Ahead
Ahead of the upcoming Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes, Viggósdóttir expects a challenging match. She highlighted the French club's individual attacking quality, particularly their ability to launch dangerous attacks from transitions. "I think [PSG] always have this individual brilliance that they can bring out in certain situations, and I think that's what we need to be the most aware of on the transition."
The Bayern captain also acknowledged that PSG have several players who pose a goal threat across the pitch, including Joe Echegini, and that while Bayern must be aware of that, the team will try to concentrate on their own strengths and collective approach. "It's, of course, a strength for [PSG] that they have lots of players who can score. But for us, I think, we are more focused on how they play as a team, but then we just have to be aware that they can pull up this individual brilliance in certain situations, and then we need to be on top in those situations."
Viggósdóttir also praised the atmosphere created by the PSG fans at home and believes that Bayern can use this as an additional source of motivation. "I think [...] their fans are incredible. But at the same time, it's also something that we can take energy from. I think it's nothing to be intimidated by, but rather take energy from it, use it in our favour."
There will also likely be quite a few Bayern München fans travelling to Paris, who she can’t wait to see proudly representing the red and white, "We know that our fans will be there and I know we will hear them because they're always super loud, and they are incredible as well. I think we will take energy from that."
Although Bayern beat PSG at their home ground last season, Viggósdóttir stressed that it was a tight match and that this season's PSG team is different. Nevertheless, Bayern can draw confidence from that experience. "It definitely gives us confidence, of course, to know that we've played there and we won there before, but it's a brand new game. They have a bit of a different team, so we need to be really well-prepared and bring our best.”
Tanikawa and Bühl - Two of Bayern's Current Stand-Out Players
Viggósdóttir also had high praise for her teammates Momoko Tanikawa and Klara Bühl, two of Bayern's standout attacking midfielders.
She described the young Japanese midfielder as a generational talent, highlighting her technical abilities but also pointing out improvements in her defensive work over the past few months. "Momoko, she's an incredible footballer. The way that she moves, her passing, her dribbling. As a defender, she's really, really tough to play against." The captain particularly admires the younger player's willingness to learn and improve, despite already achieving success at a young age.
Viggósdóttir had equally high praise for German international Klara Bühl, describing the 25-year-old as one of the best players in the world. "I think the way that she plays, she's so dangerous. You can see that teams are doubling up on her because they're scared of her dribbling, of her shooting, of her left foot, right foot." She pointed out Bühl's ability to beat defenders, her shooting and her work rate, emphasising that her contribution goes beyond attacking, with Bühl providing constant defensive support.
Viggósdóttir believes that the mixture of experienced and young players, as well as their styles of play at Bayern is one of her team's biggest strengths and what makes them successful."You need different types of individuals in a team for it to work. I think we have a really good balance of that in our team and that obviously helps us perform and it helps these individuals to be who they are on the pitch, so they can feel good. And then it's easier to perform."
14 Years after her European Debut - The Captain on Leadership and the Growth of Women's Football
Reflecting on her career, Viggósdóttir discussed how women's football has evolved since her first UEFA Women's Champions League appearances in 2012. She recalled playing in front of just 25 people for Stjarnan in Iceland and contrasted this with playing in front of over 60.000 people in their semi-final at Camp Nou last season. "It's really special to have been able to see the development and how far everything has grown in, not that many years to be fair, so it's really exciting."
She believes that increased investment, professionalism and visibility have not only helped the game as a whole to grow, but also given young talents the opportunity to focus on football. As Bayern's captain, Viggósdóttir sees creating a positive team environment as one of her main responsibilities. "I think, for me, the most important job as a leader is to make sure that everyone is connected. And [that] everyone feels good. Because I really believe that, when people feel connected and feel good, they can perform at their best."
With several important fixtures approaching, including matches against PSG and Wolfsburg in the space of five days, Bayern will need to manage their players' workload carefully. Viggósdóttir expressed confidence in the squad's depth and their ability to rotate players when necessary. She also provided a positive update on her own fitness after having missed Bayern's DFB Cup game last weekend due to knee discomfort. However, she was not in the team's squad for their game against Bremen on Friday.
The ultimate decider awaits as PSG look to strive ahead whilst Bayern want to get back on top. Parc des Princes will be packed out with two of the most passionate fanbases in the women's game for a massive game under main stadium lights in the UWCL on Tuesday at 8pm GMT (9pm CET). You can find more details on the competition and where to watch here: https://wheretowatch.uefa.com/