Neuer puts all blame on Donnarumma for Musiala injury that could see the latter miss the entire season ahead.
Neuer points finger at Donnarumma after Musiala injury.
After witnessing Jamal Musiala being carried out on a stretcher following Bayern Munich’s 2-0 loss to Paris St-Germain in the Club World Cup quarterfinal, coach Vincent Kompany stated he felt his blood boil. Just before halftime in Atlanta, Gianluigi Donnarumma challenged Musiala, causing his left ankle to seem dislocated. Players from both sides covered their faces and turned away, obviously impacted by what they had witnessed.
The coach of Bayern Munich described the injury as a “accident,” while Manuel Neuer, the goalie, questioned Donnarumma’s challenge, and Max Eberl, the sporting director of the team, claimed that the PSG goalie had not exercised enough caution.
In the second half, the PSG custodian was jeered by the crowd inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Donnarumma had been crouching on his goalline, almost crying, when the incident occurred. He once pulled his shirt up over his face. He didn’t go down the tunnel right away at halftime. He headed instead in the direction of Musiala, where he seemed to converse with some Bayern players before turning around.
“It was very emotional because we didn’t like what we saw at all,” Kompany said. “We hope it is not so serious and that he can get the best treatment. It didn’t look good. Just watching the images – you have probably seen it – it looks like an ankle injury of some type but I am not going to make a diagnosis here.
“We tried to take strength from it. We wanted to do it for Jamal but [it wasn’t to be]. The thing that gets my blood boiling is not the result, I understand that this is football; it is the fact that it happened to someone who enjoys the game so much and is very important for us.”
Neuer was more explicit. “[This is] a situation where you don’t have to go in like that; that’s reckless,” he said. “He accepts the risk of injuring his opponent. I went to him and said: ‘Don’t you want to go to [check on] our player? It’s a question of respect to go over and wish the guy all the best. He did it afterwards. Fairness is always important. I would have reacted differently.”