We must believe that the left backs belonging to Paris Saint-Germain are not varnished. Nuno Mendes had to undergo surgery for his hamstring problem and will not return to competition before 2024. For his part, Juan Bernat (30 years old) still belongs to the capital club (under contract until in 2025 and paid to the tune of €730,000 per month, editor’s note), but his loan to Benfica is, for the moment, not a success. Supposed to be an experienced player capable of lending a hand to Roger Schmidt’s team, the Spaniard began his adventure in Lisbon… in the infirmary.
Arriving injured, the former Bayern Munich resident had to wait until October 3 to make his official debut with the Aguias against Inter in the Champions League. On this occasion, his coach made the bet to start him, but the result was mixed, the Spaniard being involved in the winning goal scored by the Nerazzurri. Then, Bernat participated in five of the last six matches (2 in Liga Betclic, 1 in C1 and 2 in the Portuguese Cup) of the SLB. And again, nothing to rejoice about. The full-back has only started once in the league (against Casa Pia on October 28) and only once in the national cup. And even. The day before the match against Lusitânia, Schmidt spoke about the competition between the Spaniard and the Czech David Jurasek.
Bernat still injured
“Juan Bernat and David Jurásek, both coming back from injury, they need to play, and they played the last matches here at Benfica. Tomorrow (the day of the match against Lusitânia, editor’s note), we will make a decision, but we need two players in top form and we have to develop them. » Result: holder, Bernat was replaced by his competitor at half-time. Not enough to provoke a war between the two men, according to Jurasek. “It’s competition, but it’s welcome. It’s good for him and for me to be competing. His presence can help me, because he is a player who has a long career and is very talented. I have a good relationship with him, we even send each other messages on Sundays”declared the former Slavia Prague player to Sports.cz.
Titillated by his competitor, Bernat then had bad luck. Because unfortunately for him, the problems continue. Absent from the last championship match against Chaves without explanation, the native of Paterna aroused the curiosity of the Lusitanian media. A suspense that didn’t last very long. Absent from training a few days before facing Chaves, Bernat is injured and suffers from myalgia in the adductors of the left thigh. A new physical problem which forced him to forfeit Wednesday’s Champions League match against Real Sociedad, at least. After Julian Draxler’s struggles last season, the Parisians loaned to Benfica are definitely unlucky.
