Comment: Forget the histrionics, Neymar a cut above rest

Neymar Junior was a footballer used and abused at last summer’s World Cup as his diving and histrionics almost overshadowed Brazil’s below par performance in Russia.

Thu, 29 Nov, 2018 - 05:55

Nick Callow

Neymar Junior was a footballer used and abused at last summer’s World Cup as his diving and histrionics almost overshadowed Brazil’s below par performance in Russia.

And we had been led to believe he was not doing the business in Paris either with all the talk of a potential return back to Barcelona looming for the suspect South American.

And then this happened.

Neymar was a cut above anything Liverpool have faced in the Premier League this season as they once again showed they are vulnerable on their travels — three defeats from three games in Europe now this season — and perhaps they not quite the team that peaked so brilliantly to reach last season’s Champions league final.

That run which included victory against England’s finest side Manchester City was supposed to spill into this season in which they would challenge for the league and in Europe.

But the way in which Neymar inspired PSG to a stunning first half performance and ultimate result, which should and could have been more comfortable, ultimately showed Jurgen Klopp’s side still have room for improvement.

Klopp had tried to anticipate the ambush and limit the dangers by selecting Joe Gomez on the right side of his defence at the expense of the sometimes errant Trent Alexander Arnold, but there are not many defenders of any experience who could live with Neymar on this form.

Gomez, so good for club and country this season, looked average at times.

Put Neymar in this mood, together with Uruguay’s Edison Cavani and the third member of his latest striker trio Kylian Mbappe, and one can understand just why Liverpool can think they did well to come away with the result they did.

Neymar, like his Paris team, can be simultaneously irritating and brilliant. This group has been so tight the obscenely wealthy French club were just as likely to go out of the Champions League as they were to go on and win it going into the match.

Now Liverpool, also potential winners if they can click, need to beat Napoli at home by two clear goals just to stay in the competition. What a night that could be to be under the lights at Anfield.

True football fans will hope, however, there is a way for PSG and Neymar to get through too as when he plays like this there are few better players to watch.

The Premier League might be the most competitive in the world with a greater spread of quality players, but it cannot boast a star who shines anywhere as brightly as the Brazilian.

He had a hand in the home side’s 13th minute opener and finished clinically himself in the 37th minute after Cavani had a shot saved from an Mbappe pass.

That Liverpool got back into the game through James Milner’s penalty on the stroke of half time was not a fair reflection on the game.

Liverpool had been desperate up until then as PSG’s stellar forward line tore Klopp’s game plan apart.

But they were boosted by the fact they had never lost a Premier League game in which Milner had scored, but that only goes to show the Champions League really is a step up.

Klopp came out for the start of the second half prowling his technical area in a bid to ensure his players remembered to keep their foot on the gas.

But playing in that aggressive manner so nearly led to PSG getting a third goal when Marquinhos had an effort disallowed for a close offside decision soon after the restart.

Yes, Liverpool were still second best, but they were playing with more confidence and purpose. Midway through the second half the voices of Liverpool fans could finally be heard for a spell above the brilliant partisan Parisians.

But this crisp Paris night soon belonged to Neymar and the home fans again as they were revived when a Marquinhos header was superbly saved by Allison.

They should have had a penalty too when Virgil van Dijk wiped Neymar out in the box. His skills also drew a late booking for Robertson an angry late challenge on the Brazil star.

The reaction was not to roll on the ground for minutes on end but to get back up and show off the best bit of skill of the night when he flicked the ball off the back of his legs and over Xherdan Shaqiri’s spinning head.