On Wednesday evening, Neymar managed no less than sixteen dribbles against the Italians in Bergamo. Without going up, this is a statistic that would probably have fallen into oblivion. But "thanks", among other things, to the Choupo-Moting miracle, it is part of the history of this victorious quarter-final of the Champions League (2-1).
Only Argentines Leo Messi and Javier Zanetti had achieved such a feat in the Champions League, recalls the statistics agency Opta. For the "Pulga", it was in 2008 against Manchester United, for the second in 2003 with Inter Milan against Dynamo Kiev.
16 - Neymar completed 16 dribbles against Atalanta tonight, the most by a player in a single Champions League match since Lionel Messi v Manchester United in April 2008. Twist. #ATAPSG pic.twitter.com/WpT1ONRZVV
- OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 12, 2020In Lisbon, Neymar has therefore become a tightrope walker. A first at this level of adversity with PSG, frustrated so far not to see it reproduce what it has so many times demonstrated with Barça or Seleção. Small bridges, body feints, lightning change of pace, the Brazilian was blown away in the offensive animation. And this despite his two huge failures in the face of goal and the fact that he sorely lacked technical relays around him.
On the verge of elimination before reversing the meeting thanks to the entries of Mbappé and Choupo-Moting, PSG has "taken a step forward", according to Ney, interviewed on RMC Sport. “I never thought of going home. From start to finish, from the warm-up, we only thought of qualifying for the half. Nobody is going to take my head off that I want to go to the final, ”continued the 28-year-old.
