After Paris Saint-Germain fell 2-1 at Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League meeting at Westfalenstadion, star winger Neymar has gone on record blasting his own club for keeping him on the sidelines too long.
The Brazilian had missed the last four Ligue 1 games officially with a rib injury, but according to the man himself he was ready to go.
“It is hard after four games without playing,” Neymar said after the loss, going after his own club. “It was not my choice not to play, the club took this decision. The club made this decision with the medical team. I wanted to play, I felt good. The club was afraid, and it is I who suffers from it.”
Neymar scored his team’s only goal - a valuable away goal - and was effective one-on-one in the attacking third, completing three take-ons and creating three chances. However, he struggled to link up with teammates, completing just 13 of his 27 attacking-third passes and only one of five attempted inside the penalty area.
All told, PSG’s potent attack of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Angel Di Maria was held to just 0.58 expected goals on nine shots outside of Neymar’s converted effort.The French side was expected to trouble the Dortmund back line much more given the hosts had struggled defensively leading up to the game. The Dortmund defense had conceded at least three goals twice in Bundesliga play since the start of 2020 and once more in DFB-Pokal competition.
Neymar has been an absolute menace on the field this season, scoring 16 goals and assisting 10 more in 19 games across all competitions, but he has again missed significant time with nagging injuries or suspensions. The Brazilian has been sidelined for 21 games this season for various reasons, including four in Champions League play and another 11 in Ligue 1 competition. Before Tuesday in Germany, the club’s only two losses this season had come with Neymar looking on.