Neymar analysis as Brazilian impresses but PSG suffer 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid

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  • Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace to help Real Madrid recover from an early goal to win 3-1 in their Champions League round of 16 first leg tie against Paris Saint-Germain at the Bernabeu.

    Adrien Rabiot opened the scoring for the visitors before Ronaldo equalised from the spot on the stroke of half-time.

    The Portuguese then scored his second in the 83rd minute before Marcelo added another three minutes later.

    Here, we anaylse Neymar’s performance.

    STATISTICS 

    Goals – 0

    Assists – 1

    Shots – 2

    Shots on target – 1

    Touches – 86

    Passes – 49

    Aerials won – 0

    Key passes – 3

    Dribbles – 13

    Dispossessed – 6

    30-SECOND REPORT

    Neymar dominated the build up to this encounter and once it got underway, he made sure he remained in the limelight, riding challenges and drawing fouls right from the get go. While his final ball let him down on a couple of occasions, he was the creator in chief for his team.

    The Brazilian would’ve been pleasantly surprised by the freedom he enjoyed. Nacho afforded Neymar far too much room, particularly in the first half. With Madrid not playing with traditional wingers, the full-back was outnumbered every time Yuri supported Neymar with an overlapping run.

    His back-heeled assist for Rabiot to score was superb, showing great awareness. Once Cavani was taken off in the second half, he enjoyed a more central role along with Mbappe.

    He breezed through the heart of Zinedine Zidane’s side on more than one occasion. In fact, he completed a remarkable 13 dribbles on the night. However, he should’ve scored right at the death from close range.

    Neymar assisted Rabiot

    Neymar assisted Rabiot

    GOT RIGHT

    Creativity – There was plenty of skill on show from the Brazilian. He bamboozled Madrid’s defenders and won a lot of fouls. His dribbling made inroads into the hosts’ defence but he also created plenty of chances with his passing in the final third, his back-heel for Rabiot’s goal included.

    Involvement – Sometimes players can go missing when so much is expected of them on a big occasion. Neymar seemed to thrive under the spotlight though. He had 86 touches in the game and made three key passes.

    GOT WRONG

    End product – While he did create chances and assisted PSG’s goal, he also failed to make the most of a couple of great chances. He failed to play Mbappe in inside the area in the first half and crucially missed a great chance right at the end.

    KEY MOMENTS

    33rd min ASSIST: Mbappe does well on the right and while his cross evades Cavani, Neymar – under pressure from Nacho – is able to back-heel it into the path of Rabiot who finishes with aplomb.

    38th min PASS: Neymar drives at the Madrid defence, makes his way into the box and then sets up Cavani. The Uruguayan swivels and shoots but Casemiro gets a vital block in to deflect the ball just wide.

    49th min PASS: Lo Celso releases Neymar down the left who plays in Mbappe with space in the box. The Frenchman drills a low shot past Ramos but Navas gets down quickly to make the save.

    93rd min CHANCE: Right at the death, Neymar gets on the end of Julian Draxler’s low cross but from close range, is only able to lift it over the crossbar.

    Neymar (C)

    Neymar (C)

    VERDICT

    Neymar definitely brought his A-game. He was at his mesmerising best at times and maybe a calmer head inside the box would have seen him contribute even more. The Brazilian had the Madrid defenders scrambling though and was a constant threat. He was PSG’s go-to man in attack and will need to be so again if they are to recover in the second leg.

    RATING: 7/10

    All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com

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