Luis Enrique explains the decision to place João Neves at left back
The midfielder scored his first goal at the Parc des Princes, but ended the game against Toulouse in an unusual position
Luis Enrique commented on João Neves ‘ performance against Toulouse , a game that PSG won 3-0, with a goal from the Portuguese midfielder, who also played an unusual role.
“In the first half he was a pivot, a usual position for him. In the second half, we wanted to use his ability to win the ball back further back,” explained Enrique in a press conference. The usual left-back, Nuno Mendes, did not play due to injury, so the position was occupied by Yoram Zague, who was replaced by Vitinha at half-time, opening up space for Neves to move to the wing.
“I think he did very well,” Enrique continued, “when a midfielder scores a goal it seems like his performance stands out more, but I’m more satisfied with his second half.”
João Neves also commented on his first goal for PSG at the Parc des Princes (he had already scored at the Stade Velodróome, home of Marseille): «It started with a great team move and the most important thing was to be there to finish. It could have been another team-mate, but it was me. I scored first time from a great cross from Hakimi and it was a goal!»
“This was a difficult game, but we managed to win. It’s always difficult to return to Ligue 1 after an international break, because players have different playing times with their national teams. In terms of confidence, it’s always important to win, but above all the way we won tonight gives us even more confidence for the upcoming games,” said João Neves.
PSG’s next game will be away to Bayern , on matchday 5 of the Champions League – the Parisians only have four points and are outside the play-off zone in the league table.
