Semenyo sidelined, Haaland may be fit to face AEK, Barca face PSG test

Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo has been sidelined for up to eight weeks after suffering a knee injury at the weekend but striker Erling Haaland could be fit for Tuesday’s Champions League clash at home to AEK Athens, manager Enzo Maresca said.

Ghana international Semenyo limped to the tunnel following Saturday’s 3-2 home win over Ipswich Town, shortly after Haaland took a knock on his foot and ankle in stoppage time.

Maresca said Semenyo’s injury was not as bad as first feared but the 26-year-old, who has two goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, needed time to recover.

“It could be eight weeks. Now the most important thing is recovery. When he is back in December it will be like a new player. Collateral. It’s not muscle,” he told a press conference on Monday ahead of the AEK game.

Semenyo was among the substitutes against Ipswich but came off the bench in the 77th minute at the Etihad Stadium.

“We tried to save him, we tried to keep him fresh, just give him some minutes, he didn’t play a lot but sometimes things happen, we cannot control,” added Maresca.

The manager said there were also some doubts about Norwegian Haaland’s fitness for Tuesday, but he remained hopeful.

“He can be available, we will see, we have a session now. We have some doubts after Saturday’s game. He was quite good yesterday, better. So we will see today,” Maresca added.

Haaland’s double against Ipswich helped City remain perfect in the top flight with seven straight wins. The 26-year-old has netted in his last eight appearances for City, scoring 12 times.

“For sure, to replace Erling it is always difficult but we have some different options,” Maresca said.

“Phil (Foden) can be one of the solutions, not the only one... but now, at the moment the number nine is Erling.”

Maresca is eyeing the AEK match as a chance for City to bounce back from last week’s 4-2 loss at home to European champions Paris St Germain, which left City 17th in the table with three points from two matches.

“I think the response after the PSG game was quite good ... It’s a Champions League game, different competition, but the ambition has to be the same, try to win games,” he added.

Meanwhile, not since those glorious days of Lionel Messi in that famous blue-and-garnet shirt has Barcelona been this good.

This week, we’ll see just how good. Ahead of what is always Barca’s biggest game of the season — the clasico against bitter rival Real Madrid in La Liga on Sunday — comes an eagerly anticipated trip to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday in the standout Champions League match of the third round.

It’s a meeting of the current top two in the nascent league-phase standings and, for many, an early taster of what could easily be the line-up in the final, which is being staged in Madrid next June.

That would underline the definitive revival of Barcelona, which hasn’t been in the Champions League’s title match since 2015 — when Luis Enrique, the current PSG coach, was at the helm and Messi was wreaking havoc in that prolific front line alongside Neymar and Luis Suarez.

More than a decade later, the names aren’t quite as stellar — not yet, anyway — but the likes of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are fueling goal-fests every few days.

Barcelona have played 11 matches in all competitions this season, winning them all, and has scored 48 goals already. That’s more than 4.3 goals a game.

Can that continue against PSG, the defending two-time champion and the team that has set the standard in European soccer for the past two seasons?

PSG have found their groove in recent weeks, too, winning six games in a row including two straight in the Champions League - 6-1 at home to Slovan Bratislava and 4-2 at City last week. That makes them the top scorers in the competition, with one more goal than Barcelona after its 5-1 win over Feyenoord and 4-1 victory at Galatasaray.

A year ago, PSG came to Barcelona in the league phase without injured star forwards Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and rallied to win 2-1, with Goncalo Ramos scoring a 90th-minute winner.

Revenge would be sweet for Barca in the ultimate test of its rejuvenation. The PSG-Barca match will be going ahead as planned, the French government said on Monday, despite violence that occurred during weekend protests across the country.

Agencies