French Press Criticizes Neymar: He Is A Shadow Of His Old Self

Neymar (Instagram @neymarjr))

JAKARTA - Paris Saint-Germain's shock 2-0 defeat to Rennes at the weekend naturally led to criticism of Mauricio Pochettino's side.

Having just beaten Manchester City in the Champions League, the star-studded Parisians fell short as they returned to action in Ligue 1.

What was worse than that defeat was that PSG ended the game without a single shot on target. Only Lionel Messi's effort came closest when his free-kick hit the crossbar.

"Conceding a goal like the second hurts," said Mauricio Pochettino after the game in which PSG conceded just before and after the first half. "PSG shouldn't make mistakes like this."

Messi can't show his class, neither can Neymar, Kylian Mbappe or Angel Di Maria.

However, it was Neymar who received more criticism than any other player. L'Equipe wrote that the Brazilian's performances are far from when he was with Barcelona five or six years ago or even with PSG during the summer of 2020.

Neymar has only scored two of his last 41 shots on goal. And the French media blamed the appearance and sought answers to the problem.

Le Parisien also called Neymar a technical waste of time and a lack of precision. Also pointing out that Neymar is a shadow of himself, branding the Brazilian the worst since the start of the season.