Trained at PSG and now an Augsburg striker, Samuel Essende played against Bayern Munich last Friday. He analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the Bundesliga leader before the match against Paris on Tuesday evening.
After the National, L2, and the Portuguese First Division, Samuel Essende, trained at Paris Saint-Germain, is discovering the Bundesliga this season at Augsburg.
On Friday, the 26-year-old striker played against Bayern Munich (3-0 defeat). Before the Champions League clash against PSG, Tuesday evening at the Allianz Arena, he analyzes the strengths of the Bavarians and highlights the essential role of Jamal Musiala.
How did you prepare for this match and try to thwart Bayern Munich?
SAMUEL ESSENDE: The Bundesliga is known for its forward projections and this idea of taking advantage of spaces, but against Munich, everyone is aware that we must not throw ourselves into the lion’s den. Our plan was to close the spaces between us, to stay compact to avoid passes in the gaps or in depth because they have very fast players.
The Bavarians had possession almost 80% of the time and sometimes more than 90% in the second half, how do you feel being suffocated?
No one would feel good. It’s never nice to run after the ball or lose it as soon as you receive it. Opposite, they have good quality passing, control and patience, as if they knew that at some point it would open up while we defended rather well. They are a team known for their counter-pressing too and as soon as they lose the ball, the harassment is total. Bayern Munich is a very aggressive team, whether it’s the midfielders or the wingers, it’s a game principle that everyone has integrated. Paris will have to play on their quality of ball movement, that’s the only way they will be able to thwart the Bavarians.
“Will Paris accept to suffer and defend low?”
Have you noticed any flaws in this impressive team?
As a striker who likes depth, the first thing I noticed was the space they leave behind them when they have the ball. They are a team whose principle is to have control over the game, they remain very compact and position themselves very high. But what makes them strong is also their weakness. By coming out of a counter-pressing and then finding free space, it changes everything. I think that PSG has a team with enough technicality and quality to get out of this marking by bringing the ball to an opposite wing. This is the weakness to exploit and Barça did it very well (1-4, October 23). Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae may be fast but when a player goes for the goal, you can be Usain Bolt, you can’t do anything about it. With Barcola, Dembélé or Kolo Muani, Paris can play in this register. But will Paris accept to suffer and defend low? I don’t think so. Luis Enrique likes to be in control.
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick against Augsburg, is he the most dangerous player?
We know that he is the Bundesliga’s top scorer (14 goals), one of the best in the world, so we will have to watch out for him. He is always in the right place at the right time. But for me, Jamal Musiala is Bayern’s key player. He is unpredictable, this guy, he always goes forward. You never know which direction he is going to go, because he is full of body feints, he always finds hooks even when he is off balance. On Friday, even though we formed a very compact and very low block in sequences, he managed to combine, do one-twos and create spaces. From what I have seen since the start of the season, he is one of the most dangerous players.
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