The Brazilian is very optimistic that the Parisians will turn it around in the second leg and progress through to the finals of the Champions League for the second time in a row. He has promised to lead the charge for Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Paris Saint Germain suffered a disappointing 1-2 defeat at home against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League semifinals. While Marquinhos did break the deadlock in the 15th minute of the game, Pep Guardiola’s men came back with a strong reply to score two quick goals in the second half. With a mountain to climb in the second leg at Manchester, PSG’s talisman Neymar Jr pledges to die on the pitch to win against the Citizens.
Speaking after PSG’s 2-1 win over RC Lens in the Ligue 1, Neymar told the club’s official channel,
“The first thing to do now is to rest and then really refocus on the Champions League. We had a very tough first leg against Manchester City but we have to believe it no matter what the stats say or our percentage chance of winning.
“I think every Parisian should believe in us! I’m in the front line, and I’ll be the first warrior who goes into battle for the team. I will give the best of myself and I will do anything to bring this back no matter what, even if I have to die on the pitch.”
Neymar will be hoping that his team can have another quick start just like the first leg against City. They started very strongly as Marquinhos rose the highest to head home from Angel Di Maria corner. PSG had several chances to double the lead but they were wasteful in front of th goal. Whereas they conceded from a Kevin De Bruyne freekick which Keylor Navas failed to judge. If De Bruyne’s goal was a stroke of luck then Riyad Mahrez’s strike which handed Manchester City the lead was simply a work of genius. Idrissa Gana Gueye’s sending off was a huge setback to PSG’s hopes of making a comeback in the game.
Now the French Ligue 1 outfit will have to score twice at the Etihad Stadium in the second leg of the Champions League to go through to the finals. In that quest, Neymar will have a huge role to play, considering he is in great goalscoring form and even when he is not scoring goals, he is mostly assisting the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Mauro Icardi and others.
The 29-year old holds the key for Mauricio Pochettino’s men as he has already netted seven goals and five assists this season in Ligue 1. While he has also registered six goals and three assists in eight Champions League appearances this season.
Whoever wins in Manchester this week will progress to the finals of the Champions League. PSG will want to make it twice in as many years and for Manchester City, it will be their first appearance in the finals. They will either play Chelsea or Real Madrid in the final of the showpiece event on May 29 in Istanbul.
The clash between the Blues and Real Madrid is also heating up for an exciting second leg at Stamford Bridge. Thomas Tuchel’s men dominated proceedings in their visit to Madrid but had nothing to show for apart from Christian Pulisic’s early goal the game. However, Karim Benzema came up with a timely reply to make it all square, and now Los Blancos will look to turn it around in their visit to West London. The biggest boost for Zinedine Zidane’s men in the second leg will be the return of their skipper and talisman Sergio Ramos.
