Special envoy to San Sebastian
Will play, will not play? While Milan Skriniar and Presnel Kimpembe have been out for many weeks, Luis Enrique had to do without Marquinhos against Rennes (1-1) and in Monaco (0-0). Danilo Pereira joined the infirmary just before the match at Louis II. The last two named nevertheless made the trip to San Sebastián to face Real Sociedad on Tuesday (9 p.m.), in the round of 16 second leg of the Champions League. And they were hard at work on the Anoeta pitch, for training, Monday evening.
Big smiles for everyone at the start of the session, and in particular for a certain Kylian Mbappé, under the eyes of journalists for a quarter of an hour. The group welcomed the presence of Luis Enrique’s deputy, Rafael Pol, absent since August following a personal problem, before hazing the new guys, Senny Mayulu and Joane Gadou. The players then performed a toro in the central circle before working out of sight.
Also read “Maybe yes, maybe no”: Luis Enrique enigmatic about Mbappé before Real-Sociedad-PSG
“Marqui” and Danilo first worked with the rest of their teammates, a three-team opposition. They then took off on a tangent to perform specific exercises under the guidance of a physical trainer, based on sprints and support tests. The Brazilian talked for many minutes with the staff, showing his calf, without being able to draw any conclusions, while Danilo still made a few long passes. A light session for the two thieves, therefore. A test for Tuesday evening for the shock.
Time will tell if it was conclusive for both, one or the other. One thing’s for sure: “Lucho” didn’t make a set-up in this session. As for Kylian Mbappé, suspense: Luis Enrique in any case had a lot of fun at the press conference, blurring the lines at leisure.