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Heynckes looks to 2013 Barca thrashing to help stop Neymar

SoccerNews in Ligue 1 4 Dec 2017

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Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes plans to stop Paris Saint-Germain and Neymar in much the same way as they contained Barcelona and Lionel Messi in 2013.

The Bundesliga champions destroyed Barca in the Champions League semi-finals four years ago, winning 4-0 at the Allianz Arena before claiming a 3-0 victory at Camp Nou en route to winning the trophy.

Heynckes returned to Bayern shortly after PSG beat them 3-0 in October, with that defeat spelling the end of Carlo Ancelotti’s time in charge.

The 72-year-old is hoping his side produce a far better performance on Tuesday and says defending as a team will be critical to containing PSG’s attacking trio of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani.

“It’s only possible collectively,” he told a news conference. “I know Neymar very well because I’ve often watched Barcelona in recent years.

“He’s a player who dribbles, he’s dangerous, creative and likes to get involved in the game.

“Mbappe is 18 years old and what he’s got is incredible.

“We’ll try to solve these things as a collective. It wasn’t easy against Messi and [Andres] Iniesta in 2013, either. But these are just human beings. And our strikers aren’t that bad; the opposition defence must also think about how to cope with that.”

Bayern have already secured their place in the last 16, along with PSG, and can only finish top of the group if they record a four-goal victory.

Kingsley Coman and Niklas Sule spoke of the desire to avenge the defeat in Paris and, although he does not share the same sentiment, Heynckes accepts it is a particularly big occasion for his players.

“Of course, we want to win and play well, but against us is a good team with a top-class coach,” said Heynckes, who confirmed James Rodriguez will be involved in the match. “They’re a well-oiled team who don’t only rely on superstars.

“I don’t like the word ‘revenge’ so much in football. This will be a showdown at the very highest level: a traditional team like Bayern against an emerging power like PSG.

“For the players, especially the French players, this game is anything but a normal Champions League game.”

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