Neymar knuckles down as off-colour PSG show some grit at long last

Thomas Tuchel had a lot in common with his PSG team on Wednesday night at the Estádio da Luz. He was limping, unbalanced and, one would imagine, lacking pace. His foot was strapped in a weighty cast and he had to perch uneasily on a water cooler to protect the metatarsal he broke in a workout session last Thursday. Yet Tuchel still cut a typically frenzied figure on the touchline. And, after a long night in which PSG trailed Atalanta for 64 minutes and led for just four, he was able to celebrate taking the club to their first Champions League semi-final in 25 years – and their first in the Qatari era. His team’s performance was shaky at best, but they advanced to the last four having broken down some important barriers.

As always seems to be the case for PSG’s big European games, the build-up was dominated by talk of absent players. The state of Kylian Mbappé’s ankle confined him to the bench; Marco Verratti’s injury kept him out entirely; and Ángel Di María remained in the stands, suspended. Edinson Cavani and Thomas Meunier had both departed without replacements this summer. As an exasperated Tuchel pointed out earlier this week, such concerns are familiar ones for PSG in the Champions League. Neymar, for example, missed their last two Champions League exits through injury. But the club’s supposed matchwinner-in-chief was fit and ready this time.

PSG measure themselves by European and not domestic success, with their fixation on the Champions League almost a parody of itself at this stage – although Juventus’s dismissal of their manager after he won them a ninth straight Serie A title suggests they are not the only club in that position. Neymar, bought so lavishly three years ago to deliver PSG to their promised land, had been denied the chance to fulfil that purpose until now. Tuchel set up the team to give his talisman the perfect opportunity to impose himself on the game. The manager switched to an untested diamond midfield and moved Neymar, who usually slaloms in from the left, into the middle. His role fell somewhere between a classic No 10 and a false nine, with a bank of midfield support behind him and two scouts for forwards in front.

Despite the effervescence of Mbappé and the glorious resurgence of Di María – not to mention the fact that PSG beat Real Madrid 3-0 in September without Neymar – there remains a sense that the Brazilian is the club’s emotional and sporting heartbeat. However, that seems to be changing – and for the better. Neymar is becoming more of a team player and more of a club man. To his credit, he has outwardly started to support a more collective mentality. “We are a family that shares this great goal,” he said before the game as the club celebrated its 50th anniversary. There is even talk of a possible contract extension.

Neymar eventually played his part in what was a victory for PSG as a team, but it all seemed awfully familiar in the early stages. PSG have a tendency to afford their opponents a little too much respect in the first half and Atalanta took advantage. After three woeful misses from Neymar, Mario Pasalic gave Atalanta the lead. It looked like the same old story: mentally frail; wayward celebrity forwards unable to produce; calamitous underachievement. A couple of gorgeous nutmegs aside, PSG’s anointed saviour dribbled without end product, lost possession too easily and slowed play down infuriatingly when acceleration was required.

With another disastrous Champions League exit looming, Mbappé’s introduction after the hour, coupled with Atalanta captain and creator Papu Gómez’s early enforced exit, shifted the momentum in PSG’s direction. Pablo Sarabía had been ineffective and Mauro Icardi had lumbered in attack, but Mbappé’s gleefully direct and incisive approach led the way in unbalancing the Bergamo side and giving Neymar an inch more space, which eventually proved vital.

Neymar was not at his best but, for the first time in a match of this magnitude, there was no obvious petulance, his body language was less frustrated and he spent less time moaning about challenges (one fairly blatant dive aside). Instead, he fought hard for his team, persistently and relentlessly throwing himself at the Atalanta defensive block. Eventually, in the 90th minute, a scuffed Neymar shot turned into an assist for Marquinhos. Two minutes later his quality finally told as his sumptuously weighted pass allowed Mbappé to cross for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s close-range winner in injury time.

Marquinhos celebrates after scoring the equaliser. Photograph: David Ramos/AFP/Getty Images

Despite their triumph, PSG were not the better team for at least an hour and did not truly convince. At least, not on a footballing level. But, for the first time in the QSI era, PSG won a key European game with gumption, determination and belief. Instead of wilting under pressure – as they did in disastrous defeats to Manchester United, Manchester City and, most infamously, Barcelona – PSG gathered momentum as the game wore on and built to a crescendo. They do not usually play badly and win in Europe – but here they did.

This victory was a collective one, not characterised by individuals and their egos. With Neymar more compliant and relaxed, there was more room for others. He may not dominate games as much as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo do – or even has much as he envisaged when he signed – but PSG are much improved as a result. Tuchel needs to convince him that this is the way forward. Mbappé outshone his partner-in-crime here but, crucially, Neymar seemed to be OK with that. When he was handed the man-of-the-match trophy after the game, he gave it to Choupo-Moting.

Tuchel deserves credit for conjuring such spirit over the last two years. That togetherness was exemplified by the player who scored the winner. Choupo-Moting, who was relegated to the Championship with Stoke City in 2018, was not signed for his quality. He was signed, as Tuchel said at the time, to be a substitute – because the easy-going, likable, hardworking, multilingual Cameroonian provides charm and honesty, and adds to the sense of unity at the club.

With no other options, PSG fans quickly adopted “Choupo” as something of a cult hero, raucously signing his name at the Parc des Princes – just as his teammates did in their dressing room late on Wednesday evening. After a workmanlike collective effort, it was fitting that Choupo-Moting should provide the finishing touch. With Icardi floundering, he may even start in the semi-final.

Tuchel will be aware of the caveats – Josip Ilicic’s absence, Gómez’s early departure, Remo Freuler’s late injury, Atalanta’s relative lack of resources and PSG’s struggle for inspiration – but his team has finally beaten excellent opponents to reach a Champions League semi-final. And they did it together. There may be difficulties ahead – Icardi’s form, Verratti’s likely absence and their obvious lack of fluidity – but as Tuchel thumped his water-cooler in relief and his team celebrated as one with Choupo-Moting at the centre, it seemed that some obstacles had been overcome at last.

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