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The Brazilian superstar scored twice and constantly tormented Manchester United’s defenders on Wednesday night.
His first stretch-mark finish surprised a confident Manchester United side after winning the reverse game in Paris early in the competition and following a dramatic comeback earlier in the Premier League.
Although a deflected shot from Marcus Rashford tied the score, Marquinhos’ second-half goal put the French team on top before Fred was sent off for his second yellow card.
And Neymar’s mastery and dribbling played a key role in PSG’s third goal to seal the victory and leave three teams tied at the top of the group alongside RB Leipzig.
“We have to be honest: they had great opportunities early in the second half,” PSG midfielder Ander Herrera later said. “Maybe it could have been completely different if they had scored, but we have players who can kill a game.
“We did a great performance. In terms of energy and attitude, I am proud of my team. We have to respect İstanbul Başakşehir [next Tuesday]. We want to win and finish first. “
Leveling the score
But like the year before, a late Rashford goal stunned the French team and left PSG’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League in shambles.
So, traveling to Manchester, PSG were looking for revenge and immediately seemed like a much improved team, with skillful interaction within the first 10 minutes unlocking a static Manchester United defense to open the scoring thanks to Neymar’s low drive.
And with PSG at the top, Manchester United received a lifeline after Brazilian referee Fred, surprisingly, showed him a yellow card instead of a red after he apparently shook his head towards Leandro Paredes aggressively.
Against the game’s streak, however, Rashford got Manchester United back into the match, albeit accompanied by a great streak of luck, after his long-distance shot was deflected past the desperate Keylor Navas in goal.
After the break, Manchester United created a host of opportunities, with Anthony Martial shooting from close range and Edinson Cavani hitting the crossbar.
And those opportunities vanished when PSG took the lead. A corner that was not properly cleared finally went around the area before Marquinhos could stab it.
From the resulting kickoff, the game went from bad to worse for the English team, as Fred was shown his second yellow after cutting a PSG attacker, although he was close.
Against 10 men, Neymar’s class shone, twisting the defenders everywhere. When the defenders got tired, he expertly teamed up with Mbappé and his other attackers to finally stretch PSG’s lead and seal the result.
“We had better chances. His two goals are rudimentary goals: richochet and pinball around the area. I feel like we deserved something. You have to take your chances and not give away soft goals. We are still in control of going to the knockout stages.”
With just one round of matches remaining, all of PSG, Manchester United and Leipzig are tied at nine points with United traveling to Germany to face Leipzig, while PSG host İstanbul Başakşehir.
