“The detonator”, “A misfortune in the Italian defense”, “In Ballon d’Or mode”: the European press raves over Neymar’s performance against Atalanta

More than three years after Barcelona’s ‘remuntada’ at PSG, the Parisians also hold a qualification in the Champions League thanks to a reversal of the situation in the last moments of the meeting.

This Wednesday evening, PSG shook. He was still behind in the 89th minute. Fortunately, Marquinhos was in the right place to take back a crunched shot from Neymar. The latter launched Mbappé perfectly in depth, a handful of seconds later. Altruistic, the Frenchman served Choupo-Moting to perfection, an unexpected hero for an evening. But throughout the meeting, a player from Paris was above the rest. On the strength of his 16 successful dribbles, Neymar wandered around the Italian defense. Without scoring, however.

This Thursday morning, the French press was full of praise about Ney. “A very funny game. He was expected and for a long time, we only saw him, for the worst and the best. His starts and dribbles made a misfortune in the Italian lines. He was inexplicably deficient in the finish , with two huge misses against Sportiello. But he is involved on both goals … “, so written The team.

Eurosport for its part highlights its role as a can opener: “The illuminations, the role of detonator, the only Parisian danger in the first period or the many chances, in particular two face-to-face, wasted? It was as much a poison for Bergamo as a reason to tear off the hair for Thomas Tuchel but it is he who is decisive on the goal of Choupo-Moting by finding the space to launch Mbappé in the back of the defense. “ While So Foot sarcastically: “He gave the impression of playing against children. The only downside: he also played with children.”

In Italy, we welcome more the beautiful course and the performance of Atalanta. “Not like this!”, write it Gazzetta dello Sport in One. “The Dea had the advantage until the 90th, then Paris equalized and passed in front: goodbye the C1. The disappointment is immense for Atalanta. But she proved she was no intruder in Final 8. La Dea will no longer be seen as a surprise, even at the highest level. And the team has given hope to a city hit by the pandemic. For his part, Corriere dello Sport praises the character of the Italians: “Atalanta was not afraid, played on a level playing field, led and cherished the dream of a semi-final … Then everything collapsed with the latest French assaults, which sent home the beautiful tale of Bergamo. ” Finally, Tuttosport played it sober: “Proud of you”.

In Spain, Neymar’s performance did not go unnoticed. “Neymar was at Ballon d’Or level. The Brazilian was by far the best, a performance worthy of the best player in the world. With him in this form, PSG are able to break any defense, even that of the Atlético del Cholo “, writes Brand, while the Sports world devotes his front page to the former Barça player. “Ney revit”. Before developing: “Even though he didn’t score, ‘Ney’ was a nightmare for the Italian defense. “

In England, the Guardian evokes the PSG attack: “In the end, it took £ 400million of offensive talent (Editor’s note: to buy Neymar and Mbappé), 93 minutes of increasingly frantic football and a man who scored only five goals in one season with Stoke (Choupo Moting) to tell the story of this exciting quarter. There are certainly stronger opponents in the competition, but not many better attacks than that of PSG. ”

Finally Germany and image pay tribute to the paid coaching of Thomas Tuchel: “Tuchel saves his future first, as the club’s expectations are huge. Dismissal was not excluded in the event of elimination. “” S‘he had not broken his fifth metatarsus a few days ago, Tuchel would have crossed the field to congratulate his players “, add Kicker.

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