Paris Saint-Germain battled FC Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup, and despite being outplayed for long stretches, they emerged victorious and will now face Real Madrid in the semi-finals.
The match against Bayern Munich was as entertaining as casino nz with multiple red cards, goals, and incredible skill from both squads. Désiré Doué opened up the scoring for PSG in the second half, and in stoppage time, Ousmane Dembélé added to his Ballon d’Or resume with a goal to secure the victory.
The match against Real Madrid in the semi-finals will be difficult for PSG. They’ve played a lot of matches with little to no rest, and they’ll be without Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández, who were both sent off against Bayern.
So, who will need to step up for PSG against Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid?
The easy answer is Dembélé. He’s only just returned from injury, but he should be fit enough to start against Real Madrid on Wednesday at MetLife Stadium. No one over the past season has been able to slow him down and I expect he will have a fine performance.
For me, the player who really needs to have an outstanding match is João Neves. It’s easy to overlook the 20-year-old midfielder for his compatriot Vitinha, but for me, Neves is so vital because he’s able to do so many different things on the pitch. He can maintain possession under pressure, win the ball back with tenacity, and if you need a goal, he can score a header off a set piece like he did against Inter Miami.
With his shirt tucked in, Neves is a throwback midfielder. There’s not a lot of wasted movement with his game, and he’s the perfect complement to Luis Enrique’s system. The €60 million transfer fee that PSG paid to sign Neves from SL Benfica last summer seems like a bargain now. If PSG wanted to entertain offers for Neves, which they absolutely shouldn’t, they could easily command a transfer fee of over €100 million.
Against Real Madrid, Neves will need to maintain possession as much as possible. Without the ball, it will be difficult for Mbappé, Vinicius Junior, and Jude Bellingham to do much damage. With that possession, Neves should look to release Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the left wing to take advantage of his matchup against Trent Alexander-Arnold. For me, that’s the easiest way to defeat Real Madrid, and it all starts with Neves in the midfield.
