Football

‘The criticisms are legitimate’ – PSG star admits he hasn’t been good enough

February 14, 2023 11:00 am
‘The criticisms are legitimate’ – PSG star admits he hasn’t been good enough

PSG star Neymar has admitted his recent performances have not been good enough, saying that the criticisms of his displays are “legitimate.”

The admission comes ahead of PSG’s Champions League round of 16 first-leg meeting with German giants Bayern Munich.

The French side go into the game following back-to-back losses. The first of which was a 2-1 defeat to Marseille in the French Cup round of 16, with Monaco then defeating the Paris outfit 3-1 in Ligue 1.

PSG star admits he hasn’t been good enough

PSG remain top of the table, but their front three have been somewhat underfiring this season. Folarin Balogun, Jonathan David, Alexandre Lacazette and Wissam Ben Yedder have all outscored Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi.

Balogun leads the scoring charts with 15 goals, with Mbappe PSG’s closest competitor on 13. Neymar currently has 12 goals to his name, with Messi on 10.

While goals are not everything, Brazil star Neymar prides himself on such issues, with the attacker now admitting that he can improve in certain areas.

“I feel very good, physically and mentally,” said Neymar, as reported by LiveScore. “Some games things are not going very well. There are also games where you want to do everything, but you can’t.

“The criticisms are legitimate. Everyone has their opinion, their point of view. I respect that. I’m doing my best for the club and for the team. I will do it until the end of the season.”

Neymar can’t explain recent failures

As mentioned, it isn’t just Neymar that is struggling to find form ahead of the highly-anticipated Champions League tie, with PSG as a whole certainly nowhere near their best.

Fortunately for Neymar and Co., their upcoming opponents endured a similarly poor run of form following the 2022 World Cup. The German side drew their first three games upon the resumption of the Bundesliga, all by a scoreline of 1-1.

Julian Nagelsmann’s men have, however, recovered since then, with three wins from their last three matches. They scored at least three goals in each of the games.

The two European giants go head to head at Parc des Princes this evening in the Champions League, with PSG forward Neymar struggling to come to terms with the recent dip in form, saying: “I don’t have any explanations. I think that every club has moments of difficulty.

“As a team, we have to be united, focused. It’s good that these difficulties are happening now. We are aware that there are flaws, but we want to improve and show the best version of PSG.”

PSG

PSG out for revenge

Tonight’s Champions League fixture not only pits two European giants together, but also represents a repeat of the 2020 final, where Bayern Munich edged past PSG 1-0 in Lisbon.

Former PSG winger Kingsley Coman came back to haunt his old club with the only goal of the game back in August 2020. The French side will now be out for revenge in their bid to finally lift the elusive Champions League trophy.

League success has been relatively easy for Neymar during his time in France, but Europe’s leading club prize continues to evade the Brazil icon and his teammates.

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