Emotions will be on display and points will be on their minds when Paris Saint-Germain hosts AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who joined PSG two years ago as a free agent after leaving AC Milan, will be up against his old club while brothers Lucas and Théo Hernández will be facing each other for the first time.
“There will be a lot of emotions. It will be special,” Donnarumma said Tuesday. “But you have to put all that to one side and just think about the match.
“I feel really good here, it’s like a big family, just like I had at Milan. I will always be grateful to Milan … but I want to give everything for PSG now.”
Donnarumma made more than 250 appearances for Milan after breaking into the team when he was 16. In two weeks, the 24-year-old goalkeeper will play at the San Siro for the first time as an opponent.
He could get a hostile reception. Milan fans were unhappy with the way Donnarumma departed the club and he was booed by sections of the crowd when he played for Italy against Ukraine at San Siro in September.
“I always gave everything to Milan, so it’s not very nice to hear all this criticism,” Donnarumma said. “But I’m focused on the match and only on the match so as not to get caught up in the emotions.”
Both PSG and Milan will be looking to boost their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage. PSG is in second place in Group F, two points behind surprise leader Newcastle following a 4-1 loss to the English team. The French club beat Borussia Dortmund in its opener.
Milan, which reached the semifinals last season, is a point further back after starting its Champions League campaign with two goalless draws — against Newcastle and Dortmund.
Milan was beaten by Juventus 1-0 over the weekend and failed to reclaim the Serie A lead from city rival Inter Milan. It did, however, play most of the match with 10 men and was missing two of its key players.
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan — who grew up in the youth team at PSG but never played a match for the senior team — and Théo Hernández were suspended.
They both return at the Parc des Princes, where Hernández will be facing his older brother for the first time. Both brothers played in Spain at the same time — Théo for Real Madrid and Lucas for Atlético Madrid — but were never both chosen in games between the two teams.
Théo Hernández is one of Milan’s top players for his defensive abilities and also for his runs on the left sparking attacks. He often plays with his brother on the French national team. Lucas Hernández plays in a more central position than he does at PSG, where he is most often used as left back.
“When I saw that we were going to be facing each other, I immediately called him,” Lucas Hernández said last month. “We have never faced each other. And playing against your brother, in a Champions League match, it’s incredible.”
He then added with a laugh: “I’m going to ask the coach to put me on the right so I can be opposite him.”
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