Club World Cup: Jamal Musiala seriously injured - Bayern out against PSG

After the bitter quarterfinal knockout, which included a horrific injury to Jamal Musiala, the FC Bayern Munich players quickly disappeared, shocked and dejected, into the catacombs of Atlanta's stadium. The German record champions lost 2-0 (0-0) to Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup and will have to fly home early on Sunday. Thomas Müller's farewell tour with the Munich club thus ended prematurely. But all of that was a side issue.

The exit wasn't as painful as Musiala's apparently serious injury (according to "Bild," a broken fibula, five to six months out) in Müller's last Bayern game. "I haven't heard anything concrete yet, but it's obviously bitter," Müller told the streaming service DAZN about Musiala's injury, who had to be substituted at halftime. "It's not just that we live side by side like robots; we also have personal relationships," Müller continued.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany suggested that Musiala's ankle could also be affected. "It's a shame for Jamal," the Belgian said after the match, without being able to give a precise diagnosis. "The situation with Jamal was emotional. It didn't look good. We hope it's not that serious." PSG coach Luis Enrique also expressed his condolences: "It was an unbelievable incident with Musiala. I hope he recovers quickly."

Young star Désiré Doué (78th minute) and Ousmane Dembélé (90th+6th) scored the goals for Paris in front of 66,937 spectators. Bayern were unlucky with two offside goals from Dayot Upamecano (45th+2nd) and Harry Kane (87th), who lost the ball before the 0-1. After two late red cards for Willian Pacho and former Munich player Lucas Hernández, Bayern had the upper hand at the end but couldn't turn the game around.

Shortly before the final whistle, referee Anthony Taylor awarded a penalty to Bayern after an alleged foul on Müller. However, after reviewing the video footage, the referee reversed the decision. "We were so focused on advancing here, and now it just turned out this way. We have to process that first," said Müller.

The shocking moment of the game came during the final action of the first half. PSG defender Willian Pacho blocked Musiala's shot in his own penalty area. Then goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma rushed forward and threw himself at the ball with great effort.

The 1.96-meter-tall, 90-kilogram Italian was hit by the ball, but so was Musiala. He was left lying on the ground with a badly twisted leg and, after initial treatment, had to be stretchered off to the catacombs in pain. Initial suspicion: a broken leg.

Not only Musiala's teammates were shocked, Donnarumma also threw his hands over his face in shock when he realized the consequences of his unintentional but momentous action.

At that moment, the excitement for this quarterfinal, which Bayern coach Vincent Kompany had expressed at the press conference in the stadium about 16 hours earlier, vanished. "These games are simply awesome. You want to play them. We're excited because we're playing against a team that won everything last season," the 39-year-old Belgian said.

And Kompany went all-in with the lineup, like at the poker table. For the first time in three months and his muscle tear in the Bundesliga match against Augsburg, Musiala was back in the Munich starting eleven. The 22-year-old tried to cast his magic, slipped several times, and then injured himself so badly. A shock – not only for him, but also for his teammates. Josip Stanisic had also been forced off injured (34').

In the enclosed Mercedes-Benz Stadium, cooled to a comfortable temperature, Bayern were on par with the favored PSG team, which had triumphantly won the Champions League final against Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich five weeks earlier. Who would make the decisive mistake? Who would ignite the spectacular attack? This question quickly arose in the mega-football arena.

There were many rapid attacks – and two goalkeepers were in the spotlight. Bayern captain Manuel Neuer reacted superbly against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (32') and Bradley Barcola (49'). However, the 39-year-old almost conceded a goal with a passing error shortly before the 0-1, but former Dortmund player Ousmane Dembélé shot wide of the empty net (74').

PSG keeper Donnarumma, in turn, saved a powerful shot from Michael Olise (27'). Serge Gnabry replaced Musiala at halftime for Bayern, but that ultimately proved to be a side note.

RND/dpa