João Neves is back in business. Injured with an ischium since September 14 and PSG’s victory against Lens, the Portuguese midfielder made his comeback in Luis Enrique’s eleven on Saturday, during the reception of OGC Nice on behalf of the 11th day of Ligue 1. After 45 minutes played on the Moustoir lawn, Wednesday evening, the former Benfica player, this time, played a little over an hour of game. Without really shining…
Aligned alongside the inevitable Vitinha and Titi Warren Zaire-Emery, the native of Tavira displayed a much more timid face than usual. “Several avoidable ball losses, and the feeling that he was quite far away when Nice was in possession of the ball. A dangerous strike coming back from the locker room, and that’s about it.”summarized the FM editorial team, giving it a score of 4.
Neves must find his cruising speed
Replaced by Fabian Ruiz for the last half hour of play (65th), the 21-year-old Portuguese did not have the expected impact (0 shots on target, 33% of duels won, 3 lost balls, 2 fouls). A sluggish return which can, however, be explained by the lack of rhythm of the 1m74 right-hander. On the sidelines in recent weeks, the usual pillar of the Parisian midfield will now have to play a series of matches to regain his splendor. Present at a press conference, Luis Enrique preferred to focus on the mentality of his group, rather than individualities.
“This is not the time to draw conclusions, but the time to know how to manage the different competitions. We are in a good period, and I would like to emphasize what I felt this (Saturday) evening: the supporters sing for more than 90 minutes, and it is normal to have the same mentality as our supporters, and to fight until the end. Scoring in the last minute is very important for us, it shows our mentality”. Leader of Ligue 1, PSG now has its head turned towards Bayern Munich. A shock which should, again, allow João Neves to regain his full potential.
