PSG breach final barrier

LISBON • An inspired Neymar helped Paris Saint-Germain reach their first Champions League final with a 3-0 win on Tuesday. But the fact that the Brazilian was not their best player against RB Leipzig says everything about the strength of Thomas Tuchel's team.

Neymar has been instrumental to his team's exploits in Lisbon in his third year with PSG. His first two seasons in France following his €222 million (S$361 million) transfer from Barcelona were blighted by injuries and speculation about a move back to Spain.

This term, he scored in both legs against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16, just before the coronavirus brought football to a halt. He was then outstanding in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Atalanta last week and even better in the demolition of Leipzig.

He hit the post twice in the first half, including an audacious effort from a free-kick wide on the right as everyone waited for a cross.

The 28-year-old also won the free-kick which led to Marquinhos' opener, and it was his flick which set up Angel di Maria for the second goal before Juan Bernat sealed the win.

Fellow PSG star Kylian Mbappe believes Neymar deserves to be recognised as the world's best player by Fifa this year.

"If we win the Champions League, he will certainly be in a position to win the award," said the French forward. "He is destined to win this type of trophy."

Yet, while Neymar and Mbappe, the two most expensive footballers of all time, dominated the headlines, there were standout performances all through PSG's team on Tuesday. In particular, di Maria.

The Argentinian returned from suspension to start against Leipzig and it was he who set up two goals either side of scoring himself.

While they were bright in attack, it was the French champions' defence that was praised by Tuchel.

PSG have conceded just five goals in 10 games, the best record in this season's Champions League.

PSG have reached their first European Cup final after 110 games in the competition. It is the most a team have played before reaching the final, surpassing Arsenal's 90 from 1971-2006.

"I was never relaxed, but how we defended was also the most important thing for me. We had a good mix between determination, spirit and quality," the German coach said.

The showing was a sharp contrast to gut-wrenching collapses and near misses that prevented PSG from reaching past Champions League finals. On Sunday, they will face either Bayern Munich or fellow French side Lyon.

PSG were previously eliminated by Real Madrid (2018) and Manchester City (2016). Last season, they were knocked out by a last-minute goal by Manchester United.

Most painful was the team's 2017 elimination at the hands of Barcelona in the last 16, on the strength of a stunning 6-1 defeat at the Nou Camp after PSG won the first leg at home 4-0.

That defeat was orchestrated by Neymar, then with the Catalans. Three years on, he is part of a win that marks the culmination of a project that began when Qatar Sports Investments, the Gulf nation's sovereign wealth fund, took over the club in 2011.

Leipzig, founded in 2009, had to be content with reaching the last four for the first time in the Red Bull-backed club's brief 11-year existence. "In the end the opponents were simply better than us, we have to accept that," RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann said. "We won't be the first team not to stop Neymar and we won't be the last."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, NYTIMES