Liverpool FC really need to bring it a week from tonight when they travel to Paris Saint-Germain for a UEFA Champions League group stage clash. Having suffered a shock defeat at Red Star Belgrade, they now have little room for error in terms of advancing to the knockout round.
They are level on Napoli with points with six, and PSG are just right behind them with five. Fortunately for Liverpool their opponents have suffered some massive misfortune this international break. Two of their biggest stars, among the most expensive players in world history, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, have suffered injuries during the internationals.
Today saw PSG announce a medical update on both Mbappe and Neymar. Both players underwent scans and the results show that the French international has suffered a bruised shoulder, while the Brazilian is set back by a right adductor strain.
“They will undergo a 48-hour period of treatment before further evaluation,” the news release says. Again, situations like these are the main reasons why clubs and fans hate international breaks so much. Liverpool currently sit first in the Group C standings, by virtue of goal differential tie breaker over Napoli.
If third place PSG loses to Liverpool next week and Napoli beats Red Star Belgrade, the Ligue 1 powerhouse will be eliminated from Europe. That would be almost unthinkable in Paris given all the massive amounts of money they have spent building a roster for the goal of winning the UCL.
If Mbappe and Neymar can’t go against the Reds, they may be in serious peril here. As for the Merseyside club, their upset loss at Red Star had looked potentially disastrous, but they seem to have been tossed a lifeline here. It should be an enthralling fixture on Wednesday night.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.