Neymar pulls the strings but Napoli fight back in 1-1 draw that suits Liverpool

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  • Napoli held Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw at the San Paolo on Tuesday night.

    The visitors were on top in the first half and took the lead in the Group C Champions League clash through Juan Bernat on the stroke of half-time.

    Napoli though emerged a different side after the break and were full value for the equaliser when Lorenzo Insigne converted from the spot after Jose Callejon was felled inside the area.

    Here’s a look at the talking points from the encounter.

    NEYMAR THE CONDUCTOR

    Ever since his move to Barcelona, Neymar has always been measured – perhaps unfairly – on the ‘Messi scale’. While he’s never quite met the Argentine’s standards, it’s gratifying to see him now start to have as much influence at PSG as Messi does at Barcelona.

    Kylian Mbappe is naturally earning a lot of plaudits with his 13 goals so far this season but any comparison with Neymar’s tally (12), and indeed suggestions that the teenage sensation may be the greater threat, is completely misguided.

    The Brazilian has been PSG’s chief playmaker, often creating chance after chance for his French counterpart. In the absence of a true midfield conductor, Neymar has been the one dropping deep and pulling the strings for the Parisians while Mbappe has been the main threat in behind.

    That is evidenced by the fact that the 26-year-old has registered more key passes per game (3.1) than any other PSG player in Ligue 1 this season while Mbappe has been caught offside more often than any player in the division (1.3).

    Despite starting up front alongside Mbappe in a 3-5-2 system in Naples, he adopted a free role to get on the ball as much as possible and orchestrate play, not just in the final third, but even deeper.

    Neymar played four key passes against Napoli and found Mbappe with the ball in behind the defence before Bernat finished the move in the middle for the opening goal.

    Neymar was key.

    Neymar was key.

    MERTENS MAGIC

    Napoli emerged for the second half like a house on fire. They were a completely different team and Dries Mertens had a lot to do with that. The Belgian was suddenly impossible to live with as Napoli started getting the ball into him far more quickly.

    He fired an effort at Gianluigi Buffon in the 51st minute before forcing another save from the legendary goalkeeper from the resultant corner with an inventive lobbed effort. A couple of minutes later, Mertens then showed superb control and a deft touch to set up Callejon whose shot was deflected for a corner.

    Credit must go to Carlo Ancelotti as well with Napoli making a palpable shift in strategy before they finally bagged a well deserved equaliser. They were far more direct at the start of the second period, forcing passes through the lines and swiftly invading PSG’s final third.

    Mertens put pressure on PSG's defence.

    Mertens put pressure on PSG’s defence.

    GROUP WIDE OPEN

    With Liverpool losing to Red Star Belgrade 2-0 in the earlier fixture, the opportunity was there for both sides competing at the San Paolo to claim victory and go top of Group C.

    A well-contested encounter however ended with a 1-1 draw and as far as Liverpool are concerned, that was the best outcome they could’ve hoped for.

    The Reds remain in the lead as per the head-to-head rule with Napoli matching them on points with six followed by PSG on five.

    However, with just two rounds of the group stages to go, each of the three big sides are faced with early elimination. With four points to their name now, Red Star can’t be excluded from contention either, especially as they play their last group game at home. They may face PSG then but have shown they have plenty of grit and shock progress into the next phase would be huge for the Serbian side.

    Tight in Group C

    Tight in Group C

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