"That's nonsense!" Vincent Kompany dismisses an unpleasant accusation at Bayern Munich

At the same time, he was keen to defend his former mentor, Pep Guardiola. For years, the Manchester City manager has faced the unflattering criticism that he over-analyses big and important matches and tries to catch the opposition off guard with unorthodox tactics and line-ups – an approach that, on balance, has often backfired.

The same pattern surfaced during his Bayern Munich tenure. In the 2014 Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, he fielded a risky 4-2-3-1 with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Toni Kroos as a double-six, a move reportedly urged by senior players. Instead of overturning the 1-0 first-leg defeat, the Bavarians were brutally exposed on the break and lost 4-0. "The biggest mistake I've ever made as a manager," the Catalan railed afterwards.

Two years later, in the first leg of the semi-final against Atlético Madrid, he surprisingly left out Thomas Müller and Franck Ribéry, preferring Juan Bernat; Bayern lost 0-1 and were eliminated once more.

"I played under Pep. It's not true that he changes everything in big matches. That's just media nonsense. When you lose, you have to explain yourself. When you win, you're right," Kompany said of his Catalan mentor.

Looking ahead to Wednesday's Herculean task—PSG's visit to the Allianz Arena—Kompany stressed that he will build on his side's strengths, namely aggressive man-to-man pressing and bold attacking football. 

"Imagine if I answered this question by saying I absolutely want to do something completely different – that would be a very silly answer from me," Kompany explained, dismissing any radical shift in approach. "It's about constantly offering the lads small details as solutions. I've probably watched 35 PSG matches now. The lads need encouragement to stick with what they've been doing all along!"

In last Tuesday's first leg, though, a hint of Guardiola wafted through the Parc des Princes. Kompany surprised many by benching ever-present midfielder Konrad Laimer and instead selecting Alphonso Davies, who had been repeatedly sidelined by injuries.

Shortly before half-time, he conceded a controversial penalty, ultimately converted by Ousmane Dembélé to give Paris a 3-2 lead. Apart from that moment, however, Davies performed well, and the hint of Guardiola quickly faded at the Parc des Princes. 

The full-back berth remains the only unresolved spot in Bayern's starting line-up for the second leg. "I'm very happy to have these lads," said Kompany, referring to his "luxury situation" as Josip Stanisic, Laimer and Davies compete for two positions. 

"Everyone knows Konrad for his constant runs. Stani is clean on the ball and possesses incredible pace; you don't always see it, but he has tremendous speed and always makes the right decisions in possession. Phonzie, of course, has his pace and one-on-one ability, not to mention that left foot, as seen with his assist against Freiburg, which keeps delivering for us," said Kompany about his options on the flanks.

Nevertheless, Kompany may still tweak his selection. Stanisic struggled against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the first leg, so the combative Laimer could shift to the right, allowing Davies to reprise his role on the left and match the pace of Desire Doué.

• Here's how FCB could line up: Neuer – Laimer, Upamecano, Tah, Davies – Kimmich, Pavlovic – Olise, Musiala, Luis Diaz – Kane