What can’t João Neves do? The question has the merit of being asked in view of the XXL performances achieved by the Portuguese midfielder in recent months. Whatever the context, whatever his position on the pitch, the former Benfica player never ceases to shine. Authoritarian in the duel, valuable in recovery, surgical in the direction of the game and imperial in the air despite his 74 meter, the native of Tavira has, in recent weeks, added a new string to his bow: that of the finisher.
While Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué have had a start to the season marked by injuries, the Portuguese international (20 caps) – author of his first hat-trick for the selection during the last international break – shines today with his efficiency in front of goal. Saturday evening, during the reception of the HAC (3-0), the Parisian number 87 also confirmed this new habit. Established alongside Vitinha and Senny Mayulu in the Ile-de-France midfield, the 21-year-old scored the break goal with a beautiful cross shot from the left (65th).
Neves is PSG’s current top scorer!
A new achievement – his 11th goal in his last 17 matches for club and country – finally allowing PSG to secure a new victory and thus regain the lead in Ligue 1. Credited with a nice 7 by the FM editorial team after yet another high-level performance (7 balls recovered, 4 duels won out of 6 contested), Neves finally established himself, today, as the offensive leader of the reigning European champions.
Author of his 5th goal in Ligue 1 – 8 goals and 1 assist in all competitions since the start of the season – the Portuguese genius is quite simply the capital club’s top scorer since the restart. A performance that his trainer, Luis Enrique, did not fail to praise at a press conference. “Who is João Neves? Is it the little player who always scores? It’s pretty, we see that it has a lot of quality. He was criticized, but it’s normal to be criticized. It’s nice to see his progress and we’re happy to see that he has this ability to score goals.”commented the Spaniard, also seduced by the impressive versatility of his protégé.
