Paris Saint-Germain was able to come away with the result in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 matchup against FC Barcelona without Neymar Jr. The capital club advance, primarily thanks to a 4-0 victory in the first-leg at the Camp Nou.
Despite defeating Barcelona without their superstar forward, former coach of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Safet Susic, spoke to Le Parisien and stated that the French giants need the 29-year-old if they hope to win the entire tournament.
“It’s impossible to decide on two matches. I hope that PSG will take revenge for the 2020 final. But over two matches, I can not say anything. I don’t even know if Neymar will play and if he will be in good shape.PSG eliminated Barcelona without Neymar, but they cannot win the Champions League without him,” Susic said
“PSG needs [Neymar] and him at 100-percent. And after that, everything becomes possible. I like to see him play. Mbappé too. The two are huge and very complementary. Neymar is more of a No. 10; Mbappé is a striker, good everywhere, on the right and the left. PSG must do everything to keep them for a long time.”
There are times when Les Parisiens play well without Neymar, and the chatter of whether they need the Brazil international begins to surface. However, if the capital club wants to advance past FC Bayern Munich, they’ll need Neymar.
Furthermore, should they defeat the German giants, they could face Manchester City, and they’ll need Neymar to overcome that challenge. Last year, the 29-year-old had PSG knocking on the door of winning its first Champions League trophy.
Nonetheless, as PSG finds itself on the more difficult side of the bracket, they’ll need Neymar to reach the finals and win the competition.
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