It was 87 days since Gerard Piqué and Clément Lenglet had not played together. From the defeat to Atlético de Madrid (1-0) in the Wanda Metropolitano in LaLiga that did not coincide again in an eleven. That day, Piqué left the field visibly limping and with a worried face, which was later confirmed after knowing the diagnosis: grade three sprain in the internal lateral ligament and partial tear of the anterior cruciate of the right knee, with an unofficial prognosis of three to four months if he did not go under the knife.
During the time you have been on leave, It was not Lenglet who commanded the defense, otherwise a center-back who was playing in the reserve team last season and still in Uruguay two years ago: Ronald Araújo. Thanks to his forcefulness, speed, power and effort, the Uruguayan not only managed to convince Ronald Koeman but also began to win stripes in the team, to become the mainstay of the defense. Nevertheless, a fortuitous injury just over a week ago left him with a grade two sprain to his left ankle, from which he is still recovering.
The other center-back of the first team, Samuel Umtiti, has more than shown that he is not up for the big events, with unforgivable mistakes and a worrying lack of speed, evidencing that his decision not to have surgery on his left knee in the summer of 2018 was the most serious mistake of his career. However, Óscar Mingueza, a defender from the subsidiary, has offered green shoots throughout the season, both when occupying the position of center-back, and that of right-back, when the circumstances of the team have demanded it.
Koeman has now bet on the starting center-back pair this season for the return of the Champions. A strong bet, especially considering that Piqué arrives with just over three training sessions with the group, after having spent more than two and a half months in the dry dock, and with Lenglet offering many doubts in his game, aggravated by a disconcerting physical condition due to some discomfort in his right knee.
Sergiño Dest also appears in the eleven to play against PSG. In the case of the American defender, it is a sung title: Koeman has been preparing the ground in recent weeks for Dest to appear in this game in the best possible conditions, taking into account his recurring muscle discomfort, which has prevented him from playing with regularity in this last section of the course. Dest, in principle, will have to watch over the most dangerous man in PSG, Kylian Mbappé.