Trapp Injury the Only Negative as PSG Warm Up for City Return with Guingamp Win

Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-0 win away at EA Guingamp in Ligue 1 on Saturday set them up nicely for Tuesday’s massive UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester City.

Laurent Blanc rotated his French champions at Stade du Roudourou and named the youngest Parisien side since 1990-91 (average age of 23 years and four months, per Ligue 1's official site), but his players still managed to return to the capital with all three points thanks to a Lucas Moura double.

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The Brazil international put PSG ahead from the penalty spot 11 minutes into the second half after Jeremy Sorbon brought down Christopher Nkunku. The South American doubled Les Parisiens’ lead 19 minutes from time with a well-taken second after good work from Layvin Kurzawa.

It was an unexpected win for the men from the capital against a Guingamp team still unsure of their Ligue 1 status for next season.

Visiting coach Blanc was able to rest the likes of Marco Verratti, Javier Pastore, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Angel Di Maria, Thiago Motta, Edinson Cavani, Maxwell and David Luiz—who is suspended for the City return—before the trip to Manchester.

Speaking with journalists after the match, Le President revealed his satisfaction at the performance produced by a number of fringe stars and academy graduates.

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I am satisfied with their performance, especially in the second half. In the first half we were too wasteful and Guingamp created two or three situations from mistakes by us. We eliminated these technical errors in the second half and it was us who created the chances, it was us who scored and we hardly gave Guingamp anything, so it was really very positive.

The players out there were still representing Paris Saint-Germain and when you do that you owe it to yourself to be irreproachable. And it proves that our philosophy, the way we want to play, is something that really concerns everyone and everyone understands what we want to do, even players who play less or who have come in from the reserves.

It is always good to win, for the morale and for the players too, because let's not forget that some of those who played here will certainly play at Man City too. So it is a good thing for them to gain some confidence and get some playing time, because Tuesday is going to be a big match.

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The only blemish on a positive afternoon for Blanc and his players occurred in the 18th minute of the match, when goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and left-back Layvin Kurzawa collided heavily when trying to prevent Marcus Coco from creating a chance for Guingamp.

The France international suffered a nose injury, but the German shot-stopper was left worse for wear and required lengthy treatment. Both were able to continue until half-time but while Kurzawa continued, Trapp had to be replaced by Salvatore Sirigu at the break.

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The extent of the injury suffered by Blanc’s first-choice 'keeper has yet to be determined, but the 25-year-old could be a doubt for the Champions League return leg against City on Tuesday.

Although Sirigu is a more than adequate replacement for the former Eintracht Frankfurt man and many would prefer to see the Italy international start ahead of the German anyway, his selection in Manchester would be another disruption to the starting XI.

Blanc will already be without the suspended Luiz and Blaise Matuidi, and he also might be without Verratti and Pastore as well—assuming neither proves his fitness before the team travels to Etihad Stadium on Monday.

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If Trapp’s injury was the only concern Blanc had going into the City clash, it would not be that big a deal. However, with as many as four players already potentially missing, the man from Merzig, Germany, could take that total to five—four of whom are guaranteed starters when fit.

Should Trapp fail to recover and Sirigu starts, it could be one of the last chances for the Azzurri star to usurp the German as Blanc’s starting goalkeeper for the remainder of the season.