On Saturday, Bayern Munich suffered a painful exit from the FIFA Club World Cup in more ways than one at the feet of the reigning Champions of Europe-Paris Saint-Germain. Notwithstanding the final score, both teams matched each other’s efforts and intensity in the first half. During the opening 45 minutes, ball possession was virtually even, but Bayern had edged PSG by more shots in the game.
However, the injury gods would once again leave Bayern reeling in both physical and mental agony. Roughly midway through the first half, Josip Stanisic pulled up and then received treatment for a hamstring muscle. He briefly returned to action but was replaced in the 33rd minute by Sacha Boey. The worst was yet to come. Towards the end of the first half, Jamal Musiala, in a collision with PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, suffered a horrendous fracture of the left fibula and simultaneously dislocated his ankle.
Whilst the Bayern players returned for the second half with heavy hearts after seeing Musiala stretchered off, PSG eventually grew more into the game as it progressed and opened the scoring in the 78th minute. Despite being reduced to ten men in the final eight minutes and then to nine in added time, both times for red card fouls, PSG scored a second goal in stoppage time on the counter-attack as Bayern went for broke in search of an equalizer. Let’s take a look at some takeaways from the disappointing loss in Atlanta.
Heart-breaking injury to Jamal Musiala
In his first start of the tournament after recovering from a hamstring injury, Jamal Musiala was expected to provide the spark in Bayern’s attack and help the German Champions to overcome the European Champions League winners.
Instead, Jamal Musiala will now be out of action for at least four months as a result of a broken fibula and dislocated ankle. Ironically such a time frame is pleasantly surprisingly short considering how gruesome the pictures of the injury appeared on the internet.
Musiala’s injury is catastrophic for Bayern to put it mildly. However, the player’s welfare is paramount. The Bavarian faithful can only hope that following surgery Musiala would receive the necessary physical and emotional support to recover and come back even stronger.