So close, yet so far for PSG. The French side fell short in their first ever Champions League final appearance, losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich in Lisbon.
They had their chances. Manuel Neuer pulled off a few great saves, while PSG also failed to make the most of a few more opportunities. Ultimately, they could have few complaints with the final result.
It begs the question, what comes next for them? Paris have one of the most expensively assembled squads in the history of the game, but it is one that seems just short of the very best sides on the continent. There is also the fact that Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, their two best players, are consistently linked with moves elsewhere.
Questions will be asked of the Brazilian after tonight's performance. He did little to affect the game, especially in the second half.
His mentality was poor, spending more time arguing with the officials and opposition players than trying to get PSG back on level terms.
He was in tears after the final whistle, perhaps partly because he knew he could have done much more throughout the 90 minutes.
😢
Neymar in tears. #UCL | #UCLfinal#FestivalOfFootball 🎡🎪⚽️ pic.twitter.com/D0sSJvS2Zj— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 23, 2020
Neymar will be placed under microscope more than ever before. His decision to leave Barcelona for France was predicated on his belief that he could lead the club to the Champions League. It seems such notions may have been misguided.
Speaking on Virgin Media after the game, Brian Kerr said tonight showed that Neymar lacks the big game mentality possessed by the truly elite players in the game.
"Tonight, his temperament wasn't good enough."
Will Neymar be forever the nearly man? #UCL | #UCLfinal#FestivalOfFootball 🎡🎪⚽️ pic.twitter.com/zVYtMSo6Jv— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 23, 2020
He's been a controversial figure.
He left Barcelona because he felt he was undervalued to a degree, not financially because they got an absolute fortune for him, but that he was always in the shadow of Messi and he wanted to be the main man.
He came to this club as the main man and they paid nearly €250million to get him. He is the main man, but Mbappe is probably the more effective player with a better temperament.
I think we saw that tonight. While Neymar has worked hard in recent matches and surprised us and did some very important things in the games against Atalanta and Leipzig, tonight his temperament wasn't good enough for him to rescue that team.
Late in the game he became kind of nasty and didn't produce. There were poor tackles, poor passes...
The greatest players of the modern era, Messi and Ronaldo, have put up with that (getting targeted by opposition) on a weekly basis for 10 or 15 years and get on and do it and produce.
He has got to do it, and once again he hasn't produced.
The last time he really exceptionally produced was against PSG for Barcelona when they were 4-0 down and turned it around.
