Paris Saint-Germain had to be content with an away point after their first half dominance was undone by a brilliant Napoli fightback that earned the hosts a 1-1 draw in Naples.
The visitors were on top in the first 45 minutes and took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Kylian Mbappe burst on to Neymar’s nonchalant pass and used mesmeric quick feet to tee up Juan Bernat to bundle home.
A new Napoli turned up after the break, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side roaring out of the traps and finally making life uncomfortable for their guests. They were rewarded when Gianluigi Buffon clattered Jose Callejon and Lorenzo Insigne rifled in a crisp equaliser from the spot.
Here, we take a closer look at the performance of Neymar.
STATISTICS
Goals – 0
Assists – 0
Shots – 6
Shots on target – 3
Touches – 43
Key passes – 4
Pass accuracy – 79%
Dribbles – 1
Fouled – 1
FULL TIME: PSG take a point from the Stadio San Paolo#NAPPSG 1-1 pic.twitter.com/ksOgvHKON0
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) November 6, 2018
30-SECOND REPORT
Taking a back seat is not normally Neymar’s style, but when you have so many potent attacking options as team-mates, why not let them in on the act from time to time? His close control and underrated passing ability in many ways makes Neymar the perfect deep-lying, playmaking midfielder, and those skills came to the fore here as he fed the rapid Mbappe from deep and also looked to set Thomas Meunier and Angel Di Maria free. He took up a role further forward in the second half – partly to keep an increasingly confident Napoli honest at the back – and even though he looked lively, he wasn’t nearly as effective.
GOT RIGHT
New role – We’re used to Neymar hogging the football. But here he shone in a very different role – one from another sport even, quarterback. He is usually the star of the show but here, Neymar dropped deep to orchestrate PSG’s attacks, ala the Green bay Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, knowing he had the lightning pace of Kylian Mbappe up top to rely on.
One sumptuous ball over the top in the first half carved Napoli open and Mbappe’s dipping volley was a foot away from nestling in the net. A similar ball from the left flank sent the teenager scampering away again on the stroke of half-time and he centered for Bernat to open the scoring.
GOT WRONG
Disappearing act – As bewitchingly brilliant as the Brazilian is and was in the first 45 minutes, when Napoli responded in the second period, the 26-year-old seemed a bit disinterested. PSG possess a glut of attacking talent, but neither Neymar nor Mbappe have much of an appetite for the uglier side of the game. Napoli got a grip in the second half through sheer grit. And while they occupied the PSG defence and central midfield excellently, Neymar seemed more than happy to hang up front and provide a threat on the break.
He’ll argue that he played his part in the first half and the opening goal especially, but when the going gets tough for the Parisians, their playmaker tends to put his feet up.
VERDICT
When he’s at his best he can be mesmeric, and he was magnificent for his very uncharacteristic team play for the first act of this entertaining performances put on by both sides. When he tried to be more of a leading man after the break, however, Neymar found his limelight was being hogged by the home side’s commendable collective effort.
RATING: 6/10
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com
