Neymar Jr is considered one of the best talents in the world of football. He has been a star for Brazil whenever he has played. Neymar has also been the main man for his clubs during his tenure both domestically and in the UCL. Currently, for PSG he is a lethal attacking threat since 2017.
Neymar’s career began in his home country of Brazil with his first club, Santos FC. He played for four seasons at Santos and became one of the best players during that time. He stood out with Santos playing 123 games and scoring 107 goals. Neymar was discovered by FC Barcelona’s network of scouts and was finally brought to the Camp Nou in 2013.
https://twitter.com/PSG_English?s=20&t=qVa4I5RTBu89brpAvYTvBg
Neymar joined Barcelona in 2013 from Santos for a €60m fee. Since joining Barcelona, ​​Neymar had an excellent bond with Barcelona’s then talisman, Lionel Messi. Together both dominated LaLiga and Europe. In 2014, Luis Suárez, another South American, joined them and soon the trio became famous for the deadliest attack in the world. They are known by the nickname MSN. Neymar achieved a lot of success in Barcelona winning all the important trophies with the Catalans.
Then, in 2017, came one of the shocking transfers in football history. Neymar Jr signed for Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in France for a whopping 222 million. Since he joined PSG, he has been a constant player for them. Neymar with PSG has won all possible domestic titles, whether in the league or cup. He also led PSG to a Champions League final in 2020 but unfortunately lost to Bayern.
Since it’s Champions League game week, we decided to take a look at Neymar’s top 3 performances in a PSG shirt in the UCL.
Top 3 Performance of Neymar for PSG in the UCL
This season Neymar has been in top form. He is the only player in Europe’s top 5 leagues with the most goal contributions. He has scored 8 goals and provided 6 assists in 7 games. It seems that Neymar is fit and a crucial player for PSG this season in their campaign both in France and in Europe.
1. Neymar’s performance against Istanbul Basaksehir in UCL 2020
It was PSG’s last group stage in the Champions League of the 2020-21 season. PSG comfortably led the group and were destined to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League. However, they needed to win their final group stage to change their position at the top of the table in Group H.
In that game, Neymar did his thing and ensured that PSG won with flying colors. They eventually became top of the table in Group H. Neymar, as usual, was in the spotlight as he put on a brilliant performance. him getting a hat-trick and an assist on the day. Within the first 20 minutes of the game, he fired his team. As Neymar positioned himself in the space between the opposing midfield and defense, he suddenly brought to life a long and deliberate period of preparation for the game. He performed a fantastic nutmeg on Carlos Ponck before turning the ball into the corner of the goal from 20 yards out.
Neymar capped off a breakaway just before halftime by scoring cleanly; shortly after, he scored a penalty, which was scored by Kylian Mbappé. At the end of the first half, Neymar had already scored 2 goals and won a penalty. After the start of the second half, Neymar was quick to complete his hat-trick by scoring his third goal of the night. PSG, thanks to the brilliant performance of Neymar on the night, won the match by a score of 5-1.
2. Neymar Magic at Old Trafford in the 2020-21 UCL
Another splendid display of Neymar in PSG colors was seen at one of football’s most iconic stadiums: Old Trafford. It was matchday 5 of the UCL group stage. Manchester United hosted PSG at Old Trafford on a big UCL night.
Brazilian players are always criticized in England and labeled as unfit for the high-intensity, physical game of the Premier League. Neymar was one of them and was one of the most tagged by English experts. When PSG entered Old Trafford for matchday five of the UCL. They were in a delicate situation. They had lost 2 of 4 games in this group and were in desperate need of a win, otherwise their campaign would have ended early in that season in the UCL.
With all said and done against Neymar in the British media. He rose to the occasion and led his team to a famous victory against Manchester United. Six minutes later, he put his team ahead. Neymar demonstrated his aptitude for scoring by capitalizing on a deflected effort from Kylian Mbappé and past David de Gea from a tight angle after being at the start of a wide pitch.
Similarly, he finished the game in stoppage time. Once again, he was there at the start of the play, receiving the ball 30 yards from his own goal, fending off a challenge and then throwing a deft forward pass that opened up the defense. Then, before an excellent pass from Rafinha, he finished off the game with a hard-fought goal. Due to Neymar’s efforts in that game, PSG recorded a historic 3-1 win at Old Trafford.
3. Neymar against Liverpool in 2018 in the UCL
One of Neymar’s brilliant performances in the Champions League came against Liverpool in the group stage of the 2018-19 campaign. In the week of UCL games that season, Liverpool had defeated PSG in a close battle by a 3–1 margin that day. Now it was time for the final match of the group stage matches on Matchday 6 and PSG were looking for revenge for their UCL Matchday 1 loss.
He played a crucial role in Juan Bernat’s first goal, where PSG took the lead 13 minutes into the game. Then, at the 37th minute mark, he launched an attack and dribbled the ball past the Liverpool defense and then passed it to Mbappe for a finish. Liverpool managed to save Mbappé’s goal attempt, but could do nothing for Neymar’s rebound, who finished off with a cool and serene head. Once again for the brilliant performance of Neymar in a special night of the UCL in Paris. PSG were able to defeat Liverpool in the form of Jurgen Klopp on that day.
For more such articles, click here.
