Ahead of this week's Champions League quarter-final second leg showdown, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain experienced contrasting league outings on Saturday.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern, who lost the first leg 3-2 at home, were held to a 1-1 draw by Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena, while PSG trounced Strasbourg 4-1 after another inspired performance by Kylian Mbappe.
The France striker, who netted a double in PSG's 3-2 win at Bayern, opened the scoring with Pablo Sarabia, Moise Kean and Leandro Paredes also on the scoresheet to put the capital side on 66 points from 32 games.
It was a timely boost for the French champions in their hopes of retaining the Ligue 1 title having lost their previous league match to leaders Lille, who maintained their three-point advantage with a win at Metz on Friday.
"It's an important victory for us because the three points put us in the race for the title, but it's not about pressure or being anxious," PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino told Canal Plus.
"Today we showed real fight all together. We want to be more consistent but we are fighting in three massive competitions. The team showed massive faith and belief and today was a very good game for us."
Bayern are in a much more comfortable position in the Bundesliga with a five-point lead over second-placed RB Leipzig, but Saturday's draw – after teenager Jamal Musiala's opener was canceled out by Marcus Ingvartsen's equaliser four minutes from time – was hardly ideal preparation for a trip to the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
"That is very annoying," Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer told Sky after the late equaliser. "We played well over long stretches and would have deserved the victory."
Bayern are also struggling with a full-blown injury crisis. The European champions have nine players sidelined, including injured top-scorer Robert Lewandowski and winger Serge Gnabry, who is quarantined after testing positive for Covid-19.
