He had not played since February 19 and the 24th day of Ligue 1, against Lille. That day, PSG once again lost Neymar at a decisive moment of the season, between the two knockout stages against Bayern Munich. With the same dreaded verdict: end of season. Water has flowed under the bridges and the capital club no longer resembles that of last February, since Luis Enrique has recovered the coaching cap.
A first good news for the Brazilian, who had already evolved under the orders of the Spaniard at Barça. The other good news concerns him indirectly, with the showdown between PSG and Kylian Mbappé, which, added to the departure of Messi, leaves him as the sole representative of the bling-bling transfer window. While PSG pushed him towards the exit, the turnaround in the Mbappé file seems favorable to him.
A whole match already in the legs
All that remained was to return to the field, when he returned to training on July 10th. We thought we’d see him in action during the tour in Japan, but Luis Enrique confined him to the sidelines. We had to wait for the small detour by South Korea to witness the big comeback of Ney. Against an easier opposition, and less tenacious in particular on the physical level, it was launched from the start of the meeting. Inevitably a little apprehension and the first cautious supports, a few accelerations annihilated by a direct opponent, and Neymar took his marks.
We saw him claiming the balls at his feet, providing a valuable technical relay for the midfielders, which had been lacking until then in the friendly matches contested by PSG. And then the accelerations became sharper, to lead to his first goal, sublimated by a feint that he is one of the only ones to attempt in a match. Still on the field after returning from the locker room, he was not even affected by the changes to the hour of play. He therefore offered himself 90 minutes for his recovery, with a second goal, on a deep call, and even a decisive pass, a subtle heel kick towards Asensio.
Neymar is still far from having recovered all of his physical means, but seeing him play 90 minutes in this way can legitimately suggest that he is applying for a starting place for the first day of Ligue 1 against Lorient on the 12th. next August. Not bad news for the Parisian club, which lacks attacking talent for the moment.
