Brazilian superstar Neymar has equalled a record most recently set by his former Barcelona team-mate Messi and has etched his name into the history books after playing a lively part in PSG’s dramatic 2-1 win over Atalanta in the Champions League quarter-finals.
With his side trailing 1-0 into injury time, the Brazilian star claimed the assist for Marquinhos’ equaliser for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to score a late winner for the Parisians.
Although not a perfect performance from Neymar, who missed a golden chance to open the scoring in the first five minutes, his determination to ensure PSG finally progressed to the final four of the competition was clearly evident.
Statistically against Atalanta, the 28-year-old completed 16 dribbles to establish a joint-record in a single Champions League match with only Lionel Messi and Javier Zanetti having achieved such a feat.
It didn’t initially appear to be a memorable night for PSG nor Neymar after Atalanta opened the scoring after 27 minutes via Mario Pasalic, despite the former Barcelona star’s impressive footwork with the ball at his feet yet invariably struggling to find an opportune opening and actually missing two big chances in the first 45 minutes.
However, his persistence endured to create four chances before eventually teeing up Marquinhos in the 90th minute. Neymar would then find Kylian Mbappe just minutes later inside the Atalanta box with the Frenchman doing well to pick out Choupo-Moting for a tap-in.
The 2-1 win for PSG means they now progress to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since the 1994-95 season when they did so under manager Luis Fernandez.
Aside from Neymar, Kylian Mbappe also proved to be a crucial addition off the bench for Tuchel’s side with 56 per cent of PSG’s shots coming in the 30 minutes he was on the pitch, with no player having more shots on target than the 21-year-old. Pre-match injury concerns were clouding the skies but the star managed to recover in time to make PSG’s squad and ultimately play a decisive part in the game.
PSG will now face either RB Leipzig or Athletic in the Champions League semi-finals on August 18 with those two sides to meet in their quarter-final on Thursday.