The Brazilian scored PSG’s winner in perhaps his most effective high-profile performance since leaving BarcelonaWith Neymar the questions have always been along the same kind of lines. How far? How good? To what height can the broad wings of his own attacking talent carry him? At a slightly wild Parc des Princes, Liverpool lost an exciting, slightly fractious Champions League game 2-1, menaced throughout by a star striker intent on posing two very different sets of questions.For the opening 40 minutes, Liverpool felt the force of what was surely Neymar’s most effective high-profile performance since his Barcelona days. This was followed by the beta version: a second half of circus play and indulgence on the ball, with Neymar tumbling to...
Paris St-Germain’s squad looks too unbalanced to make an impact in this season’s competition while Inter’s Marcelo Brozovic found a new way to defend a low free-kickÁngel Di María rescued a point for Paris St-Germain at home against Napoli with his stunning late equaliser but there is no glossing over the fact that Thomas Tuchel is having to work with an extremely unbalanced squad. The front three of Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Edinson Cavani are potent enough but the midfield and defence are simply not equipped to win the Champions League. Adrien Rabiot looked like his defensive duties were optional against Napoli while there were loads of space for Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne to exploit behind PSG’s back four....
Leaving three forwards to float about and occasionally pull off a trick may be enough in Ligue 1 – but not when it comes to elite level. How have PSG not learned?A net €750m spent in eight years and that’s all you get? Success without money is all but impossible in the modern game, but wealth brings no guarantees. Football still has the capacity to make the richest of men seem very foolish if they pursue glamour at the expense of substance – a heartening moral, so long as you don’t think too closely about the source of the wealth that is paying for Neymar to squander his immense talents in an entitled fug of self-indulgence.For Paris Saint-Germain, there has...
The European Cup was the brainchild of two French journalists but the nation which invented the competition has only enjoyed one controversial success, and that was 25 years agoWhat jolly scenes those were in the Stade de France last week as Les Bleus’ World Cup-winning squad and 80,000 fans serenaded N’Golo Kanté, football’s most self-effacing superstar and, apparently, its most adorable card cheat. Yes, it’s been all whoops and giggles in France since Didier Deschamps’ team added a second gold star to the nation’s shirt this summer. But the return of the Champions League this week is a reminder of a sorrier facet of the country’s football history – its incorrigible haplessness in European club competition. Related: Champions League is...
Away from the Neymars and Coutinhos, the continent’s top clubs are increasingly targeting players between 16 and 18, such as Jadon Sancho and Willem GeubbelsJadon Sancho’s move last summer from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund made a clear statement: here was an elite prospect who would no longer wait patiently for an opportunity to play senior football.Sancho exploded on to the scene at youth international level last year while also proving his quality for City’s various development squads and the reason the 17‑year‑old swapped England for Germany was clear: he felt he was ready to play first-team football. It was a statement that resonated around Europe. Related: How Premier League starlets are cutting ties and going to Germany and Portugal...