Neymar, the return episode 4, 5, 6, we don’t really know anymore. This Saturday, the Brazilian is expected to start against Nantes (9:00 p.m.), a first since the end of November and a small event in the season for Paris SG, which needs the striker to pick up the pace before the European matches in the spring.
The flashes of the No. 10 were greatly missed by the leader of the Championship, who chained mixed performances until his success against Real Madrid on Tuesday (1-0)… with the return of “Ney” to the field.
“A lot of motivation”
“Neymar came into play with a lot of motivation”Satisfied his trainer Mauricio Pochettino on Friday at a press conference. “He was conscientious during the recovery process. Now he needs to focus on his level of play to be able to help the team.”
“It is possible that Neymar will start tomorrow”, Slipped the Argentinian. “He trained well, after the twenty minutes he played against Madrid.” His left ankle sprain, on November 28 in Saint-Etienne (3-1) in the Championship, only seems to be a bad memory.
During his recovery, “Ney” kept a low profile, unlike his outings in the winters of 2018 and 2019, between a trip to the Rio carnival and grandiose birthday parties, which gave him the image of a star with a fragile physique that did not take care of his body. He just made headlines when he released a documentary to his glory on the Netflix streaming platform, and took a picture with American rapper Kanye West, visiting Paris.
Neymar’s year?
Neymar, who turned 30 on February 5, is approaching a crucial part of his career: his window of opportunity is shrinking to win a first Ballon d’Or, which would crown his extraordinary talent.
Between the coming to power of the new generation, embodied by Kylian Mbappé, and the old guard still in place (Messi-Ronaldo), “Ney” probably only has a handful of seasons to shine. This year could be his, as PSG is among the favorites to win the Champions League, and Brazil to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
For his first mission, the next three weeks will be important to break in the automatisms of a “MNM” which has little playing time together, due to the many absences of each.
With Messi and Mbappé, the agreement seems promising on paper. “We didn’t play a lot together. But with this type of player, you don’t need a lot of time. +Ney+ brought a different breath when he came on. We will try to put him in the best conditions,” said Mbappé on Tuesday.
But of the three, “Ney” is the one with the worst statistics, with three small goals in fourteen games. This leaves obvious room for improvement for PSG, whose last two epics in C1 (final in 2020 and a half in 2021) owe a lot to the contribution of the Brazilian.
But before thinking about Europe, it is indeed at La Beaujoire that the Brazilian must come and relaunch.
With AFP