PSG left to sweat on injuries to Dembele and Hakimi / Photo: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT - AFP
PSG left to sweat on injuries to Dembele and Hakimi
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said the reigning European champions would have to wait to learn the extent of injuries suffered by star duo Ousmane Dembele and Achraf Hakimi in Tuesday's Champions League loss to Bayern Munich.
Recent Ballon d'Or winner Dembele came off after just 25 minutes before Moroccan star Hakimi had to be helped from the field in tears in first-half stoppage time as Bayern won the game 2-1 in Paris.
"We will have to wait until tomorrow to see the results of the tests to find out the extent of the injuries, but Ousmane's injury has nothing to do with his last one," said Luis Enrique.
France forward Dembele was starting for just the second time since suffering a hamstring injury playing for France at the start of September.
Hakimi, meanwhile, was taken off after his left ankle twisted awkwardly under a Luis Diaz challenge which led to the Bayern player being sent off.
"That's football, it's a contact sport," Luis Enrique said, recalling the leg fracture suffered by Bayern's Jamal Musiala during the Club World Cup quarter-final between the same teams in the United States in July.
"It's a shame because it is complicated for the players but I remember the injury Musiala got in the summer and it is just one of these moments of bad luck."
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany added: "All that matters is that Hakimi recovers quickly.
"What can I say. The intensity levels were massive. It is an unfortunate moment and that can happen. He didn't mean to injure him."
Diaz had scored twice for Bayern in a first half they completely dominated, and the German giants held on in the second half with 10 men despite Joao Neves pulling one back for PSG.
- 'Don't believe the hype' -
Bayern have now won 16 straight games in all competitions since the start of this season and are top of the Champions League standings with the maximum 12 points halfway through the league phase.
"It is great that we managed to get a result like that holding on as a team," said Kompany, who played down the significance of his side's winning run.
"For me the main thing I tell my players is that when there is hype, please don't believe it, you're not that good, and if you lose, you're not that bad.
"Now we have won 16 but from tomorrow onwards it is back to zero. I know the Champions League winner is not decided now, otherwise PSG would not have won it last season.
"Now it is about getting to the next round and this was a very important three points."
Despite the defeat, PSG have nine points from four matches and remain very much on course to advance to the knockout phase before hosting Tottenham in their next game.
"I think in the first half they were superior to us. They created more chances than us and we gifted them goals," Luis Enrique said before returning to the issue of player fitness which has hampered his team's start to the season.
"I can't recall any game this season where we have played with everyone fit, but this is a different season and we have to handle that. I am not making any excuses."
L.Cattaneo--GdR
