NEYMAR made a dream start to life as the world’s most-expensive player by netting and assisting on his PSG debut against Guingamp.
The £198million man took just 83 minutes to open his account on his Ligue 1 bow as he slotted home from close-range following Edinson Cavani’s cutback. Samba star Neymar, who joined the Parisians earlier this month, was involved from the off as football fans around the globe looked on to see whether he could handle the pressure.
There was not even a minute on the clock before he was busy trying to launch an attack.
His first touch in his new shirt saw him collect the ball in the centre circle.
Spotting the run of team-mate Angel di Maria, the ex-Barcelona man also played the former Manchester United ace in on goal, but his pass was slightly over hit as it ran through to the goalkeeper. A neat drag back three minutes later left two defenders for dead as one of them could only foul him, giving supporters a brief glimpse of the magic he possesses. Playing on the left of the front three, he was linking up well with central striker Edinson Cavani. And a nice one-two with the Uruguayan almost set him free on goal, but a slight miscontrol allowed a Guingamp defender to nip in and clear. Neymar and his side were starting to get on top and he got his first sight of goal just after the 20 minute mark... and you would have expected him to have found the net. Wriggling free from one man, he skipped past another from the left 20 yards out before rifling a right-footed strike over the crossbar. Not that he ever lacks it, but his confidence was now on the rise as he pulled off a lovely nutmeg on the half hour mark.
And then he showcased his technique again by floating in an exquisite floated cross towards the back post for Marquinhos to meet with his head - but unluckily his effort thundered back off the crossbar.
The little magician was after a penalty seconds after that. He slalomed around several defenders before collapsing under the softest of challenges. Rightly, referee Anony Gautier immediately told him to get up.
Fears were raised as Neymar went down again holding his foot in the closing stages of the half, but luckily it was just a problem with his right boot that was quickly rectified.
Finally, after the restart, PSG’s pressure told as they made a breakthrough in hilarious fashion – but despite all the money they’d spent on Neymar it was a Guingamp player who gave the Parisians the lead.
Neymar’s attempted pass inside the box was cut out by a Guingamp defender, the ball falling into the path of Jordan Ikoko. He attempted to calmly play as pass back to his goalkeeper – but the stopper missed it as the ball hit the post and rolled into the net. But the second goal was all about the Samba ace. He gave the defender the eyes before threading a ball through the eye of the needle into the path of the onrushing Cavani, and the hotshot made no mistake as he slotted past the keeper.
Neymar was like a kid playing in the streets now as the opposition lost hope – pulling off dragbacks and flicks, but still he was chasing a goal. But, finally, his moment came with just seven minutes remaining. Having just forced the keeper into a save seconds earlier, this time he would not be denied.
Cavani weaved along the byline and spotted his new partner in attack free in the middle, and Neymar made no mistake as he slotted home from five yards out following a cut-back.
From TheSun
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