It’s been a long time since Paris Saint-Germain had experienced such a nightmare evening in the Champions League. First in the standings at the start of the clash against Bayern Munich, the Ile-de-France residents were stepped on by the Bavarians (1-2). And if Luis Enrique’s men reacted in the second period, it was mainly because the reigning German champion was playing ten against eleven, after the expulsion of Luis Diaz.
The Colombian was in fact the main person responsible for the Parisian nightmare in just 45 minutes. The former Liverpool resident scored twice, before seriously injuring Achraf Hakimi’s ankle just before half-time. And if Bavarians without much class still wonder how the match referee was able to expel their teammate, the Moroccan was well aware of his drama. Leaving in tears, Hakimi knew he was risking a long stop.
Paris without full-backs
During the first minutes following the match, the media were already talking about a major ankle sprain and unavailability of between three and five weeks for a player seen leaving the Parc des Princes with a big boot and crutches. Today, the suspense is over: PSG has just communicated the nature of its defender’s injury. And unsurprisingly, it’s bad news. “Achraf Hakimi suffers from a severe sprain of his left ankle, which will lead to several weeks of unavailability. Ousmane Dembélé suffers a left calf injury. He will remain in care for the next few weeks. Nuno Mendes suffers from a sprained left knee. He will remain in care for the next few weeks. Désiré Doué continues his rehabilitation work. A new point will be made after the international break.we can read in the press release.
It’s a huge blow for Luis Enrique who loses one of his most loyal lieutenants and one of the launching pads for his game. The Spaniard will now be forced to manage the next shocks of Ligue 1 and the Champions League by tinkering. Unless there is a change in the situation, Warren Zaire-Emery and Senny Mauylu have a good chance of playing firefighters on duty on the right side. The press release also specifies that Dembélé has therefore not relapsed with his hamstring and therefore suffers from his calf. He will necessarily be unavailable for the next gathering of the French team. Finally, the last unpleasant surprise concerns Nuno Mendes. At the end of the match, the Portuguese did not seem to be one of the affected players, but he will ultimately be kept away from the field for a while. Paris therefore lost two executives in attack (Doué, Dembélé) and its two arrows (Hakimi, Mendes) in defense. On Sunday evening, a significantly weakened team will face OL.
