NEYMAR dazzled fans with his outrageous box of tricks as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Reims 2-0 on Sunday evening.
The Brazilian was back in action after serving his two-match suspension following a red card against Marseille in Le Classique a fortnight ago.
Neymar was in the mood as he weaved through Reims defendersCredit: AFP or licensors
And while Neymar, 28, didn’t get himself on the scoresheet for the Ligue 1 champions, he wowed fans watching at home – as well as those in the stadium as France welcomes supporters back to arenas.
He showed off his full armoury, bamboozling opposition defenders with dips, feints, stepovers and all the trickery that has made him such a fascinating player to watch down the years.
However, for some cynics, the ex-Barcelona star’s tendency to exaggerate contact when fouled by brutish opposition was the bigger talking point.
One wrote: “Neymar summarised in 20 seconds. Great bit of skill and then fakes injury. Would have been perfect he rolled on the floor 5 times”.
And another spoilsport agreed: “Not even a great bit of skill, a pointless bit of skill that didn’t actually get anywhere. So it still summaries Neymar perfectly!”
A third even went as far as to call him: “Everything that’s wrong with modern football”.
While fans aren’t convinced by Neymar’s pained expressions, boss Thomas Tuchel has revealed that his star man may in fact be injured yet again.
And the German, 47, also bizarrely claimed that his No10 was ‘too defensive’.
Tuchel revealed that Neymar may be injuredCredit: Reuters
He said: “I thought it was a hit, but maybe not. I don’t know yet, I need to speak with the doctors.
“He did too much defensively in the first half. I wanted him to play like a ten, but he played as an eight.
“That didn’t stop him from having a great game. In general, we had a good first half. We created a lot of chances, but we missed too many.
“We have to kill the game after 20 minutes. It must be three or 4-0. I’m not happy with the second half. It was not serious enough, aggressive and intense.”
It was too long, that’s clear. He had to score again
Thomas Tuchel on Icardi’s goal drought
Mauro Icardi’s brace secured a 2-0 victory for PSG, ending his goal drought stretching back to February in the process.
And while Tuchel was pleased, the ex-Dortmund coach didn’t exactly sing Icardi’s praises.
He continued: “It was too long, that’s clear. He had to score again. He had worked well this week and deserved to start again.
“For a number nine it’s important to score, and it’s a good thing that he scored the decisive two goals even though it was possible to do better because he too had great chances.”
PSG manager Thomas Tuchel remains calm over job position after shocking season start
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
