The countdown has already started for Neymar.
Out since November 28, the Brazilian neo-thirty returned to the field on Tuesday, against Real Madrid (1-0).
If Mauricio Pochettino once imagined starting him, according to the indiscretions of
L'Équipe
, "Ney" entered for the last quarter of an hour.
The opportunity to show that he had to work well during his long period of unavailability, if we are to believe his first acceleration, which had put the Madrid defense to death.
“
He brought a different breath when he entered
“, greeted Kylian Mbappé.
It was he who sent the decisive backheel to the tricolor international for the winning goal in the 94th minute.
Even if we admit, without disrespecting number 10 Auriverde, that all the credit goes to Mbappé on this one …
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
League 1 standings
Still, with this convincing – albeit too short – victory over Real, PSG only made it halfway to the quarter-finals.
The second step will be with the former Barcelonan, who now has two and a half weeks to regain form and therefore a place in the starting lineup.
A place which he is likely to enjoy this Saturday (9 p.m.), in Nantes, during the 25th day of Ligue 1. The first of three matches on the menu of Paris-SG before taking the road to Madrid, March 9 .
“Ney has very good energy, a lot of motivation. »
Mauricio Pochettino
“
It is possible that he will start (this Saturday).
He trained well, he recovered well after his 20 minutes against Real
, ”said Parisian coach Mauricio Pochettino on Friday at a press conference.
And to add: “
Ney has very good energy, a lot of motivation.
He was very serious during this rehabilitation process.
He took every step seriously, which allowed him to get there and help the team.
He left all the embarrassments behind him.
He can now concentrate on his level of play to help the team.
»
Read alsoPSG: Mbappé puts Madrid and Europe at his feet
It remains to be seen how to reintegrate the former Barcelona player into the Parisian eleven.
Neymar is not just any player in Paris, an “
important element, a player who changes our team
”, said Mbappé after the recent card in Lille (1-5) in the league.
“
We have to find these automatisms
,” he added on Tuesday evening.
Facing Real Madrid, we saw the Parisian number 7 slipping… to the right at the entrance of the Brazilian.
However, it was from the left that he came to crucify the White House in the final seconds of the game.
"
Our staff has a lot of flexibility in terms of attacking play and the positioning of attacking players, as we saw against Real, especially in the last 15-20 minutes, the three (Messi, Neymar, Mbappé) having moved a lot.
We like to give this freedom and they like to use it
, ”analyzes Mauricio Pochettino, not closing any doors.
The “MNM” construction site
The "MNM" nevertheless remains a substantial project for "Pocket".
Construction interrupted at the end of November with the injury of Neymar on the ground of Saint-Etienne (1-3) and which is all the more complicated since Messi is only the shadow of himself, despite what some say, at the image of Sergio Aguero, or what the Nantes coach and “
unconditional
” of the “Pulga”, Antoine Kombouaré, said on Thursday: “
For me, Messi, we don't touch!
I will never criticize Messi.
The former Parisian defender and coach is not blind, however.
“
He was born in 1987. He is no longer the Messi of Barça.
It was never someone who ran all over the place.
He no longer has the backbone, he is no longer capable of scoring 50 goals per season
, ”
“Lionel Messi is football. »
Mauricio Pochettino
After ensuring that his compatriot signed "
a great match
" against Real, that he "
connected all the elements
" of the team, Pochettino also defended himself on Friday.
“
It's the best in the world.
Missing a penalty won't affect his confidence… If you want to describe football, you can simply talk about Messi… Messi is football.
He's a great player
, ”promised the 49-year-old coach.
Read alsoPSG: Paredes joins Ramos in the infirmary before Nantes
The return to business of Neymar, his great friend from Barcelona and the "MSN", can in any case not hurt the sevenfold Ballon d'Or.
The former Santos nugget also '
comforted
' Messi in the locker room after Madrid on Tuesday, as
RMC
reported .
Which Messi would be "
aware that he could have weighed more heavily on the meeting
".
Neymar, he is only waiting for the opportunity to be able to speak the "
magic
" which is his, to use the words of Pochettino on the airwaves of
Cadena SER
a few days ago.
A magic that he only operated sparingly at the start of the season, with starving statistics (3 goals and 4 assists in 15 matches).
It is not too late.
Like every year, the season really begins now in Paris.