For the first time since the World Cup, three superstars – Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Kylian Mbappe – played for PSG. But last night the Parisians lost the match 1-0 against Rennes.
⌛️ End of the match, the Parisians lose to Rennes. #SRFCPSG I 1-0pic.twitter.com/tFj1f6WY1I
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 15, 2023
With this defeat, PSG’s point difference, which is second on the scoreboard, has been reduced to 1. This is what the French media is sick of. Messi and Neymar are shaken by their harsh criticism.
French media outlet “L’Équipe” described Neymar’s performance as “alarming”. But ‘RMC’ made Messi a goal. Surprisingly, although French forward Mbappe played in the match, only Messi and Neymar were criticized. Also in the match, Messi created a great opportunity that was wasted by Mbappe!
“He had a good season preparing for the World Cup,” wrote RMC Sport in Messi’s critique. Then he practiced (attentively). But now they are over. ‘
“L’Équipe” gave Messi’s performance against Rennes 4 out of 10. His usual skill with the ball was nowhere to be seen. The Argentine star worked for the team, especially in possession of the ball inside his own 30 meters. But in the second half, none of that happened. ‘
But another French newspaper, ‘La Parisien’, applied some “diplomatic” language to Messi. According to them, Messi’s influence on the match was ‘limited’.
However, Neymar has to endure the most criticism. French media is tearing it down. They even began to question whether the Brazilian forward could live up to PSG’s expectations.
Neymar was injured while playing for Brazil in the World Cup. But before that, he was in good shape. Neymar, who has 15 goals and 13 assists in 22 games this season, is yet to find post-World Cup form. On 28 December, he received a red card against Strasbourg and left the field. That meant he couldn’t get on the field against Lens. After that, PSG went to play the French Cup without him.
“L’Équipe” criticized Neymar quite harshly. “Neymar is far behind in possession, as he was in last week’s game against Ange,” wrote the top French press. He tried to score on his own several times. As a result, he lost the ball in good places and posed no danger to Renne’s defense. Such a performance against Bayern (in the round of 16 of the Champions League) is alarming. ‘
PSG will face German giants Bayern on February 14 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. Then the return is on March 8.
Another French media “RMC” correspondent Daniel Riolo mentioned that the acquisition of Neymar from Barcelona was a failure for PSG. Do we understand that Neymar is the biggest failure in the history of football in terms of transfer and wage costs? In my opinion, there is no precedent for such a major failure. Just because he has played well in two of the last sixteen matches in the Champions League 2020 doesn’t mean he’s going to save anyone’s life. ‘