Champions League: Choupo-Moting's revenge as an underrated player

In the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting hosts his former club, Paris Saint-Germain, on Wednesday 8 March (20:00 GMT). The Parisians lost the first leg at home (0-1). With the Cameroon forward in his current form, they could face another very difficult game at the Allianz Arena. With 16 goals and 4 assists in 25 games in all competitions, the Indomitable Lion is Bayern Munich's top scorer this season, despite the Bavarians' XXL squad. Who would have believed it?

Choupo-Moting, who has always been presented as an average striker, has managed to make his mark at a big team like Bayern. Leading the line alone, the Cameroonian has benefited from the void left by Robert Lewandowski, one that Sadio Mané and Thomas Muller have not been able to fill. The Senegalese, signed last summer after the Pole's departure to FC Barcelona, has not been convincing as a central striker. The Lion of Teranga has very often got in Muller's way, the two being players who like freedom and space. That incompatibility pushed the former Liverpool man back out to the left before he was sidelined for a long spell through injury.

Read on the same subject: Bayern Munich: 16th goal for Choupo-Moting

Choupo-Moting has been thrust to the head of the Bavarian attack, especially as Thomas Muller is also held back by an injury. Stringing together appearances, the Cameroon international is also racking up goals and good performances. Whether as a target man or dropping deep to help the team, Choupo-Moting is involved in everything. "I'm very pleased with Choupo's performances. I get the feeling he feels good in the team. He is one of our best players at the moment," said Julian Nagelsmann last November.

The coach was not wrong, as the Cameroon forward kept producing good performances until he earned a contract extension until 2024. "I'm very happy to stay longer and to keep enjoying myself with the club. I really feel at home here. My family also feels at home in Munich. I'm obviously happy to be able to help the team so much. I get on very well with the lads, we are working hard to reach our goals. Competition for places is fierce, but when you want to be among the best, that comes with it," he said after his extension. Proof of the trust the club places in him.

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐎 𝐗 𝐁𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑𝐍 until 2024 🖌 #MiaSanMia

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) March 3, 2023

Has the Lion finally found his Den?

Arriving at Bayern Munich in the summer of 2020, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting carried with him the label of a bit-part player. At Paris Saint-Germain, he had not won everyone over. He was rather mocked, even though he was the one who gave the capital club the winning goal against Atalanta Bergamo in the final 8 in 2020 (1-2). That goal made him a hero and partly restored the image that had been attached to him. People began to see a professional player who did not make a fuss. However, it was out of the question for his father and agent, Just Choupo-Moting, for him to stay at the capital club. In his view, his son needed to play a leading role at a big club.

"With what he did, Maxim deserved to be taken a bit more seriously (by PSG). But we did not feel any more recognition in the club's offer. Staying meant risking being left off the list again (for the Champions League), hearing that he was there by chance, for his human qualities... In Germany, they do not reduce him to that," he said in 2021 to Le Parisien. The forward now seems to have found his place in Bavaria. A club that respects him and gives him importance, as Thomas Muller confirms. "I did not live through that time when people mocked him in Paris. Those who did that do not know football. He scores goals and in Paris, he could have been given more time. With us, he is a very important player", the German forward assured at the pre-match press conference ahead of Bayern-PSG.

Read on the same subject: Bayern-PSG: Sadio Mané on the bench

Will his current form be enough to say he has finally found his place? Despite his extension, rumours of another world-class striker arriving keep coming back. England forward Harry Kane of Tottenham is being mentioned for next summer. Others also say Bayern would make do with their in-form striker and last summer's young signing, Mathys Tel (17). The Bavarians would count on the young French forward, who comes from Rennes, to lead the attack in the coming years. Whatever happens, Choupo-Moting has another chance to set the record straight against his former team. A fine display in this round of 16 second leg would cement his place as leader of the Bavarian attack. He already has 3 goals in the competition and has scored 2 goals against PSG since he has been playing in Bayern colours. One more source of motivation.

📊 All you need to know ahead of tonight's game ✨

🗞️ https://t.co/4PycGw9i5L#MiaSanMia #FCBPSG #UCL pic.twitter.com/PO6lTgGfH9

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) March 8, 2023