THOMAS FRANK'S RELIEF: DOUBLE INJURY BOOST CONFIRMED BEFORE PSG MATCH.
Tottenham could face a depleted PSG in the Champions League, with Ousmane Dembele and Nuno Mendes major doubts due to injury. The potential absences are a boost for the Spurs amid their own injury crisis.
Double Injury Boost Confirmed Ahead Of PSG Battle
Next week, Tottenham Hotspur will play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and they may benefit from the absence of two important players for the home team.
After the November international break, Tottenham Hotspur has a demanding schedule that includes an away Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain.
Before the international break, Spurs had a difficult time winning six of their Premier League home games.
The home crowd has been making fun of Thomas Frank's team in recent games, and if they do not improve right away after the half, the pressure will increase on the Spurs manager.
On Sunday, Tottenham will play Arsenal in the Premier League. After that, they will fly to France to play PSG in the Champions League before playing Fulham, their league rivals from London.
PSG is allegedly concerned about Ousmane Dembele and Nuno Mendes' fitness ahead of next Wednesday's game; both players are in serious doubt for the meeting against Spurs.
The two were not called up for their national teams after suffering injuries in their previous Champions League match before the international break, which ended in a 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich.
Mendes sprained his knee, and Dembele sustained a calf injury. Both players are seriously doubtful for PSG's Saturday home match against Le Havre.
The pair's limited chances of playing against Tottenham next week should be a significant boost for the north London club, according to an Evening Standard story.
Losing both Dembele, the current Ballon d'Or winner, and Mendes, one of the world's top left-backs, would be devastating for PSG.
Tottenham's injury problems
Many players are missing from Spurs, including Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Radu Dragusin.
Pape Sarr should be able to play in the north London derby despite appearing to have sustained a knock during Senegal's 2-0 defeat to Brazil.
Randal Kolo Muani, Archie Gray, and Ben Davies may still be sidelined for some time, but Lucas Bergvall and Mohammed Kudus should also be well enough to play on Sunday.
BARCELONA FIGHT BACK TO EARN DRAMATIC DRAW IN BRUGGE THRILLER
Barcelona fought back from behind three times to snatch a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in a UCL thriller. Lamine Yamal was superb, but Carlos Forbs' brace ensured the hosts a share of the points in a chaotic match.
Yamal scores as Barca draw thriller with Club Brugge - Photo Credit: Nicolas Tucat/AFP
Brugge ended up sharing the points despite having the lead three times against Barcelona and having a fourth goal chalked off.
Teenage winger Lamine Yamal returned to his best for Hansi Flick's team to help them grab a point in a thrilling match in Belgium, but Spanish powerhouse Barcelona had to fight back from behind three times to earn a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League.
Carlos Forbs, a winger for Brugge, scored twice and assisted Nicolo Tresoldi on Wednesday, shattering Barca's defence several times.
Despite having multiple injured players, Barcelona avoided a crushing loss with two goals from Ferran Torres, Yamal, and an own goal from Christos Tzolis.
Recent weeks have seen Barcelona's form falter, including a La Liga Clásico loss to rival Real Madrid.
Tresoldi, who was set up by the electrifying Forbs, gave the home team an early lead at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Brugge established an early pattern for how they could regularly inflict damage on the Catalans, with Forbs charging in behind Barcelona's high defensive line.
After Fermin Lopez played him in, Torres produced a deft finish to give Flick's team a swift response.
In a never-ending struggle between two teams intent on attacking, midfielder Lopez hit the woodwork before Forbs scored Brugge's second.
The Portuguese winger again broke into space behind Barca's defence with a one-two with Tzolis, then finished skillfully past Wojciech Szczesny.
As last year's semifinalists looked for a way to tie the score, Barca defender Jules Kounde slammed a shot against the bar at the other end.
Before the half, Yamal, who had been his team's mainstay after some recent poor performances, set up Torres for a beautiful goal, but the striker sent the ball over goalie Nordin Jackers and wide.
As Brugge continued to attack in the second half with no intention of attempting to defend their lead, Szczesny made a great save from Joaquin Seys at the near post.
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Eric Garcia nearly scored from a distance, but his attempt struck the crossbar, making him the third Barcelona player to hit the goal frame.
Yamal and Lopez worked together brilliantly to break through, and Barcelona eventually equalised with a spectacular goal.
Yamal flicked the ball past Jackers and into the bottom corner after Lopez backheeled it into the teen's path.
Forbs missed a great opportunity to put his team ahead once more, but he took another one minutes later and finished it elegantly.
His second goal and Brugge's third came after Hans Vanaken played him through on goal, and he neatly dinked it past Szczesny.
After Forbs collided with Alejandro Balde of Barcelona in the box, he was given a penalty, but it was revoked when a VAR review revealed that he had actually collided with the Spaniard.
A Yamal attempt headed for the top corner was well saved by Jackers, but he was powerless to stop Barca's equaliser, which came similarly.
Yamal beat the goalie with a curling attempt from the right that bounced off Tzolis's head.
When experienced goalie Szczesny attempted to turn in his area but lost the ball as Romeo Vermant slipped in on him in stoppage time, Brugges believed they had won.
A VAR review determined that the Belgian striker had fouled the relieved Szczesny, and although Vermant rolled the ball into the empty net, the goal was disallowed.
Erling Haaland scored against his old team in another Champions League match on Wednesday as Manchester City easily defeated Borussia Dortmund 4-1.
Galatasaray defeated hapless Ajax 3-0 on the road thanks to a hat-trick from striker Victor Osimhen in the second half.
In the meantime, Bayer Leverkusen overcame a 7-2 loss to champion Paris Saint-Germain on the previous matchday two weeks earlier by defeating Benfica 1-0.
Inter Milan, the runners-up, defeated Kairat Almty 2-1 to record their fourth straight victory. The only teams that have won every Champions League match this season are Inter, Arsenal, and leaders Bayern Munich.
In the meantime, Atalanta won by a slim margin of 1-0 at Olympique Marseille, and Newcastle overcame Athletic Bilbao 2-0.
PAIN AND FRUSTRATION FOR DE ZERBI AFTER ATALANTA’S MARSEILLE CONTROVERSY
Marseille's UCL loss to Atalanta was marred by a controversial late handball not given. While Samardzic scored the winner, coach De Zerbi fumed over a denied penalty, comparing it to one given vs Real Madrid.
Robert De Zerbi, Head Coach of Olympique de Marseille - Photo Credit: Getty Images
Following the contentious loss to Atalanta, in which the pandemonium of that penalty appeal resulted in the winning goal, Olympique Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi attempted to be diplomatic.
In this match at the Stade Velodrome, La Dea also experienced some poor luck. Ademola Lookman's goal was disallowed due to Nikola Krstovic's prior offside position, while Charles De Ketelaere's penalty was parried by Geronimo Rulli.
The issues truly started in the 90th minute when Ederson kicked the ball against his own arm after falling after a clearing, but Atalanta countered and Lazar Samardzic scored the game-winning goal while Marseille protested.
De Zerbi remains remarkably composed.
De Zerbi told Sky Sport Italia, "I do not know the rules fully, but I know that the ball will drop nicely for Aubameyang if he does not hit it with his arm."
We gave up a penalty against Real Madrid that was extremely similar to this, so it is particularly disheartening. This season's fourth Champions League match has seen three disastrous losses for us.
Olympique Marseille has grounds for complaint since Real Madrid was issued a questionable penalty for a handling infringement that appeared to be inadvertent and involved a similar arm movement.
"We battled in the first 20 minutes, and I know Atalanta is a very powerful club, but it hurts because I do not think we deserved to lose," De Zerbi went on.
Eight players are injured and one is suspended, so we are currently having some issues. We performed well against a powerful and seasoned Atalanta team that won the Europa League with many of these players, with the exception of the first 20 minutes.
De Zerbi had received a booking for urging the referee to view the video again on the touchline by waving his tablet at him.
After reviewing the video, the VAR declined to suggest an On-Field Review for the handball.