PSG suffer preparation nightmare ahead of Chelsea

PA R IS: F rench cha mpions Pa r i s Sa i nt- G er ma i n were hit by an i njury crisis on Saturday as they not only saw four players break down but also threw away a 2-0 lead over Caen in a dramatic 2-2 draw.

It wa s t he wor st p o s sible preparation for the French Ligue 1 champions who await Premier League leaders Chelsea at the Parc des Princes on T uesday in the f irst leg of their Champions League last16 matchup.

Following midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who li mped of f i n t he 16t h m i nute, coach Laurent Blanc looked on in horror as Brazilian defender Marquinhos, Ivory Coast international Serge Aurier and Brazilian playmaker Lucas all suffered injuries and had to leave the match.

T he l ate i nju r ie s, to newly crow ned A fr ic a n cha mpion Aurier and Lucas, meant PSG f inished the match with nine men after Blanc had used all of his three substitutes.

“I’m no doctor but, concerning Cabaye and Luc a s, it ’s a mu scle i nju r y. For Marquinhos, it’s the hamstring. For Au r ier, the quad r iceps,” explained Laurent Blanc.

“They all a re muscle injuries. I need to see the seriousness of it all but, for T uesday’s game, it ’s going to be very, very diff icult to have them back.”

Blaise Matuidi was also taken off on the hour mark with the midfielder having received a knock on the back of the knee.

“It ’s mor e a k no ck so it ’s not as worrying. I substituted Bla ise to be sa fe,” added Blanc.

The freak scenario in front of a stunned home crowd at the Parc des Princes went from bad to worse when Caen miraculously salvaged a point with two late goals.

Zlatan I bra h i mov ic and Ezequiel Lavezzi gave PSG what appeared to be a winning advantage after first half goa l s but Caen, who bega n the day four points above the relegation zone, were g iven a l i fel i ne on 8 9 m i nute s when Emiliano Sala scrambled home from inside the box.

Then deep into injury t i me, following a foul by I br a h i mov ic, Her ve Bl a z i le curled a left-foot free kick into the top corner leaving PSG and their watching faithful in shock.

“If someone had told me this i s how it wou ld end a f ter 2 0 m i nute s pl aye d , I wou ld n’t have believed him. Then it started with Cabaye and bad news j ust kept coming i n: another one at half-time, then two others in the second half,” the PSG coach told the press.

“But the worst news is losing two points we were holding in ou r ha nds. We cou ld n’t keep a hold on t hose t wo poi nt s. I had never witnessed such a scenario. It was just abnormal, even for those who have a lot of experience.”

Jose Mou r i n ho a nd h is Chelsea side are enjoying a we ekend of f, a f t er b ei n g knocked out of the FA Cup in the previous round, but will have looked on with great interest at what was happening on a rainy Saturday in Paris.

The tea ms a l so met last season when PSG won 3-1 at the Parc des Princes in the first match only to be eliminated when Demba Ba gave Chelsea a late 2-0 victory in the second leg, sending the Londoners through on away goals.

The point against Caen keeps the capital club level with Marseille, who drew 2-2 on F r iday at home to Rei ms, while leaders Lyon can extend their one point advantage at t he top when t hey t r avel to Lorient as one of three Sunday f ixtures.

In other matches on Saturday, Toulouse picked up three cr ucia l points as they edged Rennes 2-1 while League Cup finalists Bastia continued their f ine run with a 2- 0 victory on the road at Nantes.

Lille and Nice finished 0-0 in the north while Lens remain second from bottom after a woeful 2-0 home defeat against third from bottom Evian.

Monaco’s scheduled fixture at home to Montpellier was postponed due to heavy rain.

Apart from Lyon’s tie at Lorient on Sunday, sixth-placed Bordeaux meet fourth-placed Saint-Etienne in a fixture crucial to European places for next season. - AFP