Dante warns Bayern Munich that Mbappé is far from PSG's only danger man | OneFootball

Former Bayern Munich defender Dante has issued an alert to his old club about the variety of threats posed by Paris Saint-Germain ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League round of 16 second leg.

Bayern pulled off a 1-0 victory in the first leg at the Parc des Princes three weeks ago, but with Kylian Mbappé fully fit and available to start for PSG in the second leg, Dante believes the tie is far from over.

“How do you stop Mbappé? Nobody knows,” the Brazilian defender told OneFootball.

“He’s a player that needs some space to run using the empty spaces in the back of the defenders. When it’s possible you should keep two players around him, because he’s very fast and creative. So Bayern should keep an eye on him. Especially with the spaces at the back of the defenders, because he always uses his high speed to attack.

“It’s also important to keep him away from the penalty area, because he’s very dangerous.”

Since leaving the Bundesliga, Dante has spent the last almost seven years of his career playing in Ligue 1 for OGC Nice, during which time he has faced PSG on many occasions.

And the 39-year-old has warned Bayern that Mbappé is far from the French champions’ only threat, even with Neymar ruled out for the rest of the season due to injury.

“He [Mbappé] is certainly one key player of this game. But there are others. Messi and Nuno Mendes,” he said.

“He [Mendes] is very fast and can create many opportunities. Also the set pieces from PSG are very strong.

“Nuno Mendes is only 20 and we can say he’s one of the top players in the world at the moment. He’s very aggressive and vertical. He’s a very creative player that helps the team in the defence and when attacking he’s even better.

“He’s physically powerful and creates many chances using this attribute. If he keeps working hard, soon he will become the best left back in the world.”

With the second leg being played at the Allianz Arena, Dante believes Bayern have the best chance of going through to the quarter-finals, but he has urged his old club to be wary of leaving space for PSG to counter-attack into.

“The advice I would give to Bayern is: while attacking, be very careful if you lose the ball, because PSG counter-attack is very fast, using Mbappé, Nuno Mendes and Messi. So you need to control PSG counter-attack,” he said.

Dante made his debut for Brazilian club Juventude way back in 2002 and over two decades later he is still going strong. The veteran defender is Nice’s captain and he says it is his love for the game and a desire to help young players develop which keeps him going.

“What motivates me the most to continue playing at 39 is my passion for football. My desire to continue going to the pitch and helping Nice to develop as a club. Passing on values, experience and knowledge to this young team,” he said.

“This new generation you can’t just talk once, you always have to repeat. So it’s important to have energy, discipline and patience to share with them. There are very good and talented players like [Jean-Clair] Todibo, [Marcus] Thuram, [Youcef] Atal, [Hicham] Boudaoui. It’s an honour to be able to help them develop.

“I hope they can win many trophies in the future.”