The Parisian captain was replaced at half-time of the C1 match between Bilbao and Paris-SG this Wednesday, at San Mames. He was replaced by Ukrainian defender Illya Zabarnyi.
One more bad news and… the end of a real false controversy. Marquinhos was forced to give up his place at halftime of Bilbao-PSG (0-0) on Wednesday, in the Champions League. At one time we thought it was a blow to an ankle, but the main person mentioned pain in the adductors in the mixed zone. “I don’t know. You have to wait. He requested the change at the break. We’ll see tomorrow (Thursday).”declared Luis Enrique.
One thing is certain, it is another glitch for the European champions, who were already deprived of Ousmane Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi or even Lucas Chevalier, to name a few, during this C1 match. Two good news, however, with the start of the returning Nuno Mendes, who played the entire game, and the entry into play of Désiré Doué, who we had not seen in action since his injury in Lorient at the end of October.
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Chevalier’s package in any case allowed Matfey Safonov to start in Parisian goals. Second match this season for the Russian goalkeeper, already starting Saturday in the victory over Rennes (5-0), in the championship. A match for which Luis Enrique had to do without the services of the Ukrainian Illya Zabarnyi, a last minute withdrawal. We quickly learned that the former Bournemouth and Dynamo kyiv player was ill, even though we had seen him in training again on Thursday, during a session open to the press.
False controversy?
Knowing Zabarnyi’s strong positions on the conflict raging in his native country, some have imagined a diplomatic illness to allow him to avoid sharing the stage with Safonov. Comments attributed to Madame Zabanyi on social networks, just after the Rennes match, fueled the discussions. And this even if the club quickly made it known, off the record, that this hypothesis was far-fetched.
The question was also asked to Luis Enrique after PSG-Rennes. The reaction was salty: “It’s amazing… Every time you ask a question it’s a bit problematic (in the sense of seeking controversy, Editor’s note). All the time… No, it’s nothing, he was just sick… He was sick the last two days. I know it’s more important to look for controversy all the time but in fact, there is nothing.» A priori, you had to believe the 55-year-old Spanish technician: Matfey Safonov and Illya Zabanryi actually played together for the first time this Wednesday, in the Basque Country.
