Neymar’s stellar performance & other talking points as PSG beat Atalanta
By Sachin Bhat
Les Parisiens reach Champions League semi-finals after 25 years!
PSG netted two late strikes to mount a sensational comeback against Atalanta and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 1995.
Marquinhos and Eric Chuopo-Moting struck in the 90th and 93rd minutes to cancel out Mario Pasalic‘s opener as the French champions edged another step closer to the European title.
PSG wasted plenty of chances early on, especially in the first-half, as Gli Orobici were constantly found out at the back, but Tuchel’s men persevered and were eventually rewarded for the same.
Les Parisiens next face either Atletico Madrid or RB Leipzig in the last-four clash in Lisbon on Tuesday. Now let’s look at the important takeaways from the match:
Atalanta makes PSG pay for wastefulness
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PSG’s entire plan in the first-half was to somehow get the ball to Neymar, the side’s biggest spark in the opening stanza. Even though the ploy yielded a couple of good chances, the Brazilian failed to finish any of those, and the French outfit was made to pay for the wastefulness when Atalanta grabbed the lead against the tide.
Duvan Zapata bundled the ball through Kimpembe for Pasalic, who curled a wonderful first-time effort into the top corner. Credits to Toloi’s brilliant off-the-ball movement in the build-up too, as he dragged Marquinhos and Bernat away from the Croatian, who then had all the space to angle his shot perfectly into the far post.
Tuchel’s excellent substitutions make the difference
The introduction of Kylian Mbappe cut Neymar some slack as the French ace injected vim and vigor into PSG’s vanguard, his constant run behind the defense, and excellent link-up play with Neymar leaving Atalanta on a knife’s edge.
Soon after, Chuopo-Moting came on too, replacing Mauro Icardi as the main striker, and both were involved in the winner. Mbappe got in the behind Atalanta’s backline once again to meet Neymar’s pass and calmly squared it to the Cameroonian, who tapped the ball home at the death.
Mbappe is truly the only generational talent clear of anyone out there right now man, this man came on and changed the entire flow of the game.
— Mod (@CFCMod_) August 12, 2020
Neymar shows his class
Nights like these separate the ordinary from the extraordinary. With some big names missing in action for PSG, all eyes were on Neymar, the team’s main creative force. He missed plenty of chances, including two gilt-edged that could’ve put the Parisiens comfortably through, but the Brazilian continued to try and was rewarded for his perseverance.
Neymar has shown again he is, apart from Messi, the player that creates more magic and provokes more chances in the world (what a pass to Mbappe!), plus he has enough personality to take any team on his shoulders. Imagine if had been more accurate today. Extraordinary footballer
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) August 12, 2020
Neymar was the architect of both the late strikes, assisting Marquinhos for the equalizer before playing Mbappe with a slick pass. He might have struggled to hit the broadside of the barn himself but made the difference with his creativity, intelligence, work-rate, and passing range. After some embarrassing misses, its safe to say Neymar redeemed himself with a match-winning performance, and that’s what makes him one of the best of this generation.
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What did you make of the dramatic match?