Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich faced off this Tuesday at the Parc des Princes in Matchday 4 of the 2025-2026 Champions League. The match ended in a 1-2 defeat for PSG. After the game, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany spoke to reporters at the post-match press conference. He emphasized that the game could have changed quickly and that Luis Diaz (28-year-old forward) deliberately injured Achraf Hakimi (27-year-old right-back).
Kompany: “You never know which way it might go.”
“These kinds of matches are played on a knife’s edge. There are three or four moments where if you lose the second ball… Every time we’ve played against PSG so far, it’s turned in those moments. PSG always plays with incredible intensity, with tremendous pressing. We do too.” It all comes down to a few key moments.
The team benefits from individual talent. Without Upamecano winning his duels, or Laimer dominating his battle with Barcola, it’s impossible to survive in this kind of match. It was a nail-biter in the United States, even when we won at home (1-0 to Bayern in the group stage of the last Champions League). The lesson is that when two teams face each other at this level, it can be a spectacular show, but you never know which way it might go.
Kompany: “He didn’t do it on purpose.”
Luis Diaz’s foul?
He didn’t do it on purpose. The intensity of the match also plays a role. There was a damaging action. In the moment, it happened right in front of me, and my first priority was defending my team’s interests. But when I learned he (Hakimi) was injured, I hoped it wouldn’t be as serious as our injury with Musiala against PSG and that he’d be back as soon as possible. It’s a top-level sport, it happens at an incredible pace, and it’s not always easy to avoid these situations.
Some are talking about Bayern Munich’s overwhelming dominance, which is a bit of an exaggeration. Even though the Bavarians were better at the start of the match, the score could indeed have been very different with a few “details” unfolding differently. But that’s part of top-level football, everything’s fine. The German team didn’t steal their victory; it was up to PSG to do better. Kompany can highlight his team’s immense performance; they had to be very strong.
As for Diaz, he defends his player somewhat while also showing a positive attitude towards Hakimi. His striker probably didn’t intend to injure the Parisian player, but the gesture was undeniably malicious. He needs to learn to control his temper. At least Kompany’s reaction was more sportsmanlike than that of Josep Stanisic (the 25-year-old full-back).
