Under contract with Paris Saint-Germain until 2025, Juan Bernat (30) was one of the lofters the capital club wanted to get rid of. As is often the case with an undesirable player paid up to €8 million per season, Paris had no other option than to lend him. And as with Julian Draxler last season, it was at Benfica that the Spanish left-back officially bounced back on September 2.
The former Bayern Munich resident, however, was not able to start immediately with his new team. Injured, Juan Bernat had to wait until yesterday and the Champions League match against Inter to play his first official meeting since May 27 (Strasbourg-PSG, 37th day of Ligue 1). For his first, Bernat even had the honor of being started by Roger Schmidt in a 4-2-3-1. A surprising choice that the German explained before the meeting.
A fatal mistake at Benfica
“Juan Bernat and Jurásek are returning from injuries. Bernat is obviously not ready to play 90 minutes yet, but we are happy to be able to count on him. He has experience, quality on the ball and technical intelligence. » Unfortunately for him and the Lisbonites, Benfica lost 1-0 in Italy. Asked by Eleven SportsBernat, who remained on the pitch for 80 minutes, was not dissatisfied with his performance. “I was satisfied with my performance. When I arrived at Benfica, I was not physically fit and the season had already started. I hope to continue improving my physical condition so I can be 100% and help the team. »
But what did the Lusitanian media think of it? Credited with a 5 (out of 10) in the columns ofO Jogo, the Spaniard delivered a rather clean performance. He showed some confidence in his passing and brought some experience to the Lisbon defense. Record was more severe, giving it a 2 (out of 5). The reason ? The activity of the Batavian Dumfries posed a problem for him. But above all, Bernat’s only mistake of the match, a loss of ball, caused Inter’s winning goal scored by Marcus Thuram. Frustrating.
