After the game, the Brazilian sat on a step high up in the stands at the Parc des Princes and cried tears of joy
Neymar
PSG have once again been hit by a flood of injuries going into a crunch Champions League knockout tie, but this time Neymar is fit and seemingly ready to live up to his status as the world’s most expensive player. PSG face Atalanta here tonight in the first quarter-final. There will be no fans in the Estadio da Luz, but the French champions coped just fine behind closed doors when they beat Borussia Dortmund in their Last 16, second leg in March. That night Neymar scored the opener in a 2-0 win as they overturned a first-leg deficit.
Emotional moment
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After the game, the Brazilian sat on a step high up in the stands at the Parc des Princes and cried tears of joy. After all, his first two seasons in Paris following his 222 million-euro transfer from Barcelona were marred by injuries at the worst possible moments. Tonight’s game comes a day short of three years after Neymar made his debut for PSG.
Aged 28, Neymar now finally seems settled in Paris and is in fine shape to lead his team against Atalanta as they look to progress to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since the Qatari takeover in 2011. "I think I’m having my best time since I came to Paris," he said in an interview last week. And how PSG need him as coach Thomas Tuchel has all sorts of selection concerns elsewhere.
Mbappe doubtful
His other superstar forward, Kylian Mbappe, is expected to be on the bench at best as he battles to shake off an ankle injury suffered in last month’s French Cup final. Angel Di Maria is suspended, while Edinson Cavani left at the end of June. Perhaps most worryingly of all, midfield maestro Marco Verratti is out with a calf injury and reports claim the Italian would possibly not even be fit for the final should PSG make it.
Live on TV
Atalanta v PSG: Sony Ten 2 & Ten 2 HD, 00:30 (Thursday)
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