Six months without an open play goal – Alarm bells ringing over PSG star Neymar
Robin Bairner
- 25 Oct 2021 16:45 BST
- 3 min read
Neymar’s record for PSG this season is not one befitting the world’s most expensive player.
The Brazil international has featured on eight occasions for the Parisians and has just a single goal to his name – a penalty converted against Lyon in mid-September.
Indeed, his last goal from open play for PSG came on 1 May against Lens, nearly six months ago.
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During Sunday’s clash with Marseille, which finished scoreless, Neymar was sacrificed with 10 minutes of the game remaining. It was a rare occasion upon which he was replaced without being injured.
Although he trudged off the field in a disgruntled manner, he could have few complaints about the decision of head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
PSG might have produced a quiet display by their standards, particularly in the second half, but there was little doubting that Neymar’s performance was especially peripheral. Both Lionel Messi, who is still searching for his first Ligue 1 goal, and Kylian Mbappe, who was again the chief threat, were far better.
Is Neymar finished?
In the aftermath, Neymar’s performance came under close scrutiny from the French media.
One particularly scathing assessment of his performance came from the respected journalism Daniel Riolo on RMC.
He was really like an old singer who’s no longer popular and has gone to the cruise ships to sing to the old women
- RMC journalist Daniel Riolo“He was really like an old singer who’s no longer popular and has gone to the cruise ships to sing to the old women. No-one wants him anymore. He’s Julio Iglesias at 85 years old. It’s pitiful,” he said.
With a shiny new contract that runs until 2025, Neymar's motivation does not seem high and his love of the Paris nightlife remains.
Nevertheless, his campaign has been complicated by his late return from the summer’s Copa America, where his Brazil side finished as runners-up, yet his two goals and three assists in that competition indicated that he still has much to offer.
That has not been evident back in the French capital, where he has been the chief victim of Messi’s belated summer arrival.
Indeed, he only finds himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons presently, with no relent in sight.
Neymar is presently a symbol of this PSG side, which is so rich in talent but failing miserably to untap it. If Pochettino is able to lean on the individual talent of Messi and Mbappe for now, there is no hiding place for him, whose present form is only conspicuous by its lack of quality.
With Neymar’s love of the party lifestyle well known, it is not surprising that the question is being asked if the PSG superstar is finished at just 29. Only he can supply the answer.
