Despite conceding three goals against Argentina, Dayot Upamecano was arguably France’s best defender in the 2022 World Cup final. The Bayern Munich centre-back was hard as nails, and constantly kept the likes of Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi in check near the box.
While he had a solid performance to take away, his teammate Ousmane Dembele was hooked before half-time. The Barcelona winger had conceded a penalty early on in the game, and could barely hold his own weight against Marcos Acuna and Angel di Maria.
Despite that, Upamecano has recognised Dembele as his favourite player, though. Speaking to BeIN Sports (h/t FCB World), the Frenchman said Dembele’s name when asked about his favourite player.
He was also asked about the most difficult player he had faced.
“The most difficult forward I have faced in defence is Ousmane Dembele,” Upa said.
The interviewer then naturally brought up Lionel Messi, who scored two goals against Upamecano in the World Cup final. He rejected the idea, though, saying, “No, not Messi. It’s Ousmane. He is very, very fast.”
Most recently, Dembele took on Upamecano in the Champions League when Barcelona faced Bayern in the group stages, twice. The latter was on the winning side both times, and came away with a especially impressive display at the Allianz Arena in the 2-0 win.
The post Bayern Munich defender chooses Barcelona winger over Messi as the most difficult forward appeared first on Barca Universal.