PSG vs Chelsea: Laurent Blanc faces injury crisis ahead of Champions League fixtures
The Ligue 1 champions, who welcome Chelsea in the first leg of their last 16 tie, conceded two late goals
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Paris Saint-Germain endured troubled preparation for tomorrow’s Champions League visit of Chelsea as they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Caen on Saturday.
The Ligue 1 champions, who welcome Chelsea in the first leg of their last 16 tie, conceded two late goals as injuries meant they finished with nine men to languish behind Lyons and Marseilles in the table.
PSG coach Laurent Blanc was left with injury concerns as both Yohan Cabaye and Marquinhos had to be taken off. Serge Aurier could not finish either, limping off in the 71st minute, before Lucas left with a groin problem. All four are likely to miss out tomorrow, while Javier Pastore is doubtful with a thigh injury.
“It’s hard to accept,” Blanc said. “Given the nature of their injuries, I think they are out for quite a long time.”
PSG, who have only won three of their last eight league games, led through first-half goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ezequiel Lavezzi before Emiliano Sala, in the 89th minute, and Herve Bazile, two minutes into stoppage time, rescued a point for the visitors.
Real Madrid continued to attract the ire of their supporters as Gareth Bale was again booed during their 2-0 victory over Deportivo La Coruña. Isco and Karim Benzema scored in either half but home supporters were far from happy, while Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score for a third consecutive game, his worst club run in 18 months. Barcelona kept pace with the leaders yesterday, Lionel Messi scoring a hat-trick as Levante were beaten 5-0 at the Nou Camp.
In the German Bundesliga, champions Bayern Munich thrashed Hamburg 8-0, Thomas Müller, Mario Götze and Arjen Robben each scoring twice, while Bas Dost scored four as Wolfsburg remained eight points behind in second with a remarkable 5-4 win away to Bayer Leverkusen.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments