Neymar incensed by trick as Messi draws blank in PSG shock
Paris Saint Germain star Neymar reacted angrily when Amine Gouiri tried trickery on him in the Ligue 1 giants' second defeat in three games at Nice on Saturday.
With a Champions League round of 16 second leg tie against Real Madrid fast approaching, Mauricio Pochettino's men lost 1-0 courtesy of an 88th-minute Andy Delort winner masterminded by Christophe Galtier, who snatched the French top flight title away from the Parisiens when he managed Lille last season.
PSG were missing top scorer Kylian Mbappe as Lionel Messi yet again fired blanks in another unflattering display in which he failed to register a single shot and made only one key pass.
But one of the most talked about moments of the defeat came when Neymar, who is hardly in top form himself with one goal in his past seven games, took offense to showboating from Amine Gouiri in the 96th minute, with footage of the incident seen almost a million times online in less than 24 hours.
Gouiri showboating in front of Neymar is the type of pettiness I can get behind https://t.co/oXTzu1mVyb
— Aidan (@a_cheevers6) March 5, 2022
As the final whistle blew and Nice moved into second place – 13 points behind PSG and a point above Marseille – Gouiri attempted to pull off a rainbow flick.
The piece of skill, which ends with the ball being flicked above the head of the player attempting it, angered the Brazil striker and caused him to push the 22-year-old Frenchman.
The heat died down after a quick staredown as Neymar walked off sulking, but the reaction of the world's most expensive player could be deemed hypocritical considering his history of similar taunts.
After a rainbow flick against Leganes during a 5-1 win when he was at Barcelona, Michael Laudrup criticized the Ballon d'Or contender for "provoking the opposition" in September 2016.
"Pass the ball and move elsewhere," the Dane, who played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid in his heyday, demanded. "At 4-0 up, you can't be showboating and provoking your opponents".
Current Barca manager and club legend Xavi Hernandez was also unimpressed when Neymar pulled the same stunt in a 2015 during a 3-1 Copa del Rey final win over Athletic Bilbao.
"He should seriously think about how he acts [in the future]," the iconic midfielder told Sport.
"I understand people’s attitudes to his [rainbow flick] against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa [del Rey]. Some saw it as a lack of respect.
"Those things in Brazil are accepted, but not so much [in Spain]. He should reflect on it because he’s an extraordinary guy, a hard worker and humble.
"But he has this Brazilian trait which sees such things as part of the show. [In Spain], it looks like a lack of respect."
Neymar has also been booked in France for the act, and offered support to Brazil national team colleague Lucas Paqueta when he was yellow-carded for showing off his skills while playing at Lyon.
"It's very sad this episode, taking a yellow because of a dribble," Neymar said on social media, using the term "wheelbarrow" – the name of the flick in Brazil – and calling it "a resource, no matter where or what minute it is."
"Last year, it happened to me. This year with Lucas Paqueta. Honestly, I don't understand the reason.
"The famous 'beautiful game' is ending. Enjoy it while it lasts or fight for it to come back."
Neymar commented on Lucas Paquetá receiving a yellow card for trying to rainbow flick a player. This happened to Neymar himself in the 19/20 season. 🎙“Joga bonito is ending” pic.twitter.com/pbXutZR1HX
— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) September 23, 2021
Ahead of the trip to the Bernabeu on Wednesday, under-fire Pochettino pointed out the obvious by saying that his side were headed for a draw until Delort struck.
"The match was balanced; we controlled the match, even if we didn't create many chances," the Argentine claimed.
"[But] the opponent was able to respond with a few situations, notably through transitions, and was effective at the end. Honestly, there's not much to analyze about this encounter.
"It's true that when you can't win a match, you must at least not lose it. This Nice goal happened precisely on an offensive transition, [and] it's something we should have managed better."
PSG lost 3-1 at Nantes in February after beating Madrid 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League tie through a stunning late Mbappe winner.
"Every game is different," said Pochettino. "You have to take the context into consideration, that in the Champions League is not the same as that in Ligue 1."
Pochettino predicted that PSG will be in "optimal" shape for the trip to Spain, when Los Blancos target Mbappe's future could be decided by the result.
