PARIS (AP) — The injuries are piling up so much for Paris Saint-Germain that coach Luis Enrique is questioning his management of the squad.
PSG’s home defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday was compounded by injuries to three major players: Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé (calf tear), right back Achraf Hakimi (sprained ankle) and left back Nuno Mendes (sprained knee).
They were arguably PSG’s three best players last season and they all face weeks out, as does rising star Désiré Doué (thigh tear). Nine PSG players have been injured since August and some — like Dembélé and Doué — have been injured twice.
“It is something I should handle much better, given all of my experience,” Luis Enrique said after the Bayern game.
But Champions League holder PSG appears to be paying the price for an exhausting last season, which stretched until the Club World Cup final in mid-July and saw some players appear in more than 60 games. PSG’s high-octane style and incessant closing down of opponents also demands a lot.
Defending Ligue 1 champion PSG leads second-placed Marseille and Lens by two points heading into this weekend’s games.
Key matchups
PSG’s depleted defense could face a tough time at Lyon, which is in sixth place and is strong at home. A victory for Lyon on Sunday would move it to within one point of PSG and open up the title race even more.
There could be a shakeup in the top five with Lens traveling to play Monaco on Saturday and injury-hit Marseille hosting Brest.
Players to watch
Should Marseille’s defense find itself in trouble, it can count on goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.
His penalty save against Atalanta on Wednesday was the fourth he has stopped in the 10 faced since joining Marseille, taking his career tally to 11 out 42 saved.
According to Opta statistics, Rulli’s 40% save ratio from spot kicks is the second highest in Europe’s top five domestic leagues over the same time span, behind Napoli’s Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
United States forward Folarin Balogun is hitting form for Monaco. He scored his first Champions League goal on Wednesday, one week after netting in Ligue 1.
With PSG’s attack decimated, Portugal striker Gonçalo Ramos could get a run of games.
He scored a header in the final seconds of the game against Nice last weekend to give PSG a 1-0 win. He has 38 goals in 101 games for PSG, many of those as a substitute.
Out of action
Paul Pogba still has not played for Monaco and the former France star’s comeback was delayed by a twisted ankle in training last week.
Marseille has several players missing, including U.S. winger Tim Weah (thigh), forward Amine Gouiri (shoulder operation), midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia (calf) and central defenders Leonardo Balerdi (calf) and Facundo Medina (ankle).
Off the field
Toulouse player Aron Dønnum is set to appear before the French league disciplinary committee after being accused by Le Havre coach Didier Digard of making a racist gesture toward one of his players.
Following a 0-0 draw between the teams last Sunday, Digard said he thought Dønnum made a racist gesture with his hand toward Le Havre midfielder Simon Ebonog, who is Black, after the two players argued with each other.
Dønnum said his gesture, whereby he waved his hand in front of his face after Ebonog leaned toward him following a challenge, had “nothing to do with racism.”
Toulouse issued a statement, saying it condemned “unfounded and particularly serious accusations.”
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