“I want to give no indication to the opponent. We’ll see tomorrow“. Luis Enrique had a precise plan for João Neves against Chelsea. And one thing is certain, the Spanish coach did well not to divulge any information to Liam Rosenior, because the Portuguese midfielder played a complete match. He made a perfect comeback on Wednesday evening against Chelsea at the Parc des Princes (5-2). Uncertain until the last moment after a reassuring training session on Tuesday, the 21-year-old Portuguese was finally started and did not disappoint. From the first minutes, the former Benfica nugget imposed his presence in the midfield, alternating recovery, precise restarts and intense pressing, putting Cole Palmer, usually striking on the London right flank, through a real ordeal.
Thanks to his volume of play and his self-sacrifice, Neves quickly established himself as the driving force in the Parisian environment and his statistics show this perfectly. He won 8 duels, won 7 possessions and made 7 tackles, also accumulating 3 interceptions. PSG’s number 87 showed his ability to cover the entire pitch, and allowed the capital club to maintain a high pace and organize the quick transitions which led to goals from Barcola and Kvaratskhelia. On the offensive level, João Neves also played a role by delivering the decisive pass for the former Lyonnais to open the scoring, combining defensive impact and creative influence.
“No one talks about the physical today”
If his technique and his complementarity with Vitinha are no longer to be proven, his influence was also visible on both sides of the field, making Cole Palmer almost invisible and limiting the circulation of the ball on the English side. The native of Tavira knew how to delay, restart cleanly and direct the game intelligently, while providing constant cover for his teammates. His tackle at the feet of Cole Palmer under the eyes of Matvey Safonov (49th) also caused the Parc des Princes to explode. If Bradley Barcola started the fire and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put the icing on the cake, it was João Neves who was the most complete man in the midfield and more broadly in the Parisian team, dictating the pace and preventing the Blues from getting close to Safonov too easily. Author of such a perfect copy, Neves took the opportunity to eclipse any doubt about his physical state after missing the matches against Le Havre then AS Monaco.
“Today, no one talks about physical capacity (smile). When we lose, we say it’s physical and mental problems. Yesterday, we had physical problems, and today we scored 3 goals in the last 10 minutes. It’s multifactorial, as I said. Like last year, when you told me that it was not possible to win with such a young team. These are clichés», joked Luis Enrique. With a deserved 8/10 in the columns of French Football Weeklythe Portuguese offered PSG a mastery of the midfield which allowed the Ile-de-France club to win (5-2) in a spectacular scenario. Starting after persistent uncertainty, João Neves proved that he was essential for the heart of the Parisian game and recalled that he could be present in major European meetings, confirming his status as a pillar of Luis Enrique’s team.
