Paris started their UEFA Champions League campaign slowly, but since then they have grown with Neymar in top form.
UEFA.tv: Review the group stage
Your season so far
Paris – Istanbul Basaksehir 5-1
Group H winners: V4 E0 D2 GF13 GC6
Top scorer: Neymar (6)
20/10: Paris – Man. United 1-2 (Martial 55′ p.p.)
28/10: Başakşehir – Paris 0-2 (Kean 64 ‘, 79’)
04/11: Leipzig – Paris 2-1 (Di María 6 ‘)
24/11: Paris – Leipzig 1-0 (Neymar 11 ‘p.)
02/12: Man. United – Paris 1-3 (Neymar 6 ‘, 90’ + 1, Marquinhos 69 ‘)
09/12: Paris – Başakşehir 5-1 (Neymar 21 ‘, 38’, 50 ‘, Mbappé 42’ p., 62 ‘)
In a nutshell: A major win in Manchester released pressure after a hesitant start.
The UEFA.com reporter’s vision
A difficult start, but a strong ending. That is what Paris has done, which started with the mental and physical hangover from the final last August. The French champions had to struggle to avoid total disaster at times, before rediscovering their balance in a season led by Neymar at one end and Marquinhos at the other. Could that triumph at Old Trafford serve as a springboard?
Chris Burke, Paris reporter
That We have learned
Paris – Bayern 0-1
Following their first UEFA Champions League final, Paris suffered their worst start to the group stage since 2004, with three points from three games. The exhausting month of August had taken its toll, with key players (especially Kylian Mbappé) with injury or fatigue problems.
So Neymar stepped forward, scoring six goals in three games to help the capital club climb to the top of the group. Since then, Mauricio Pochettino has replaced Thomas Tuchel on the bench and will have many things under his belt.
Changes in the template
High: none
Low: Bandiougou Fadiga, Maxen Kapo, Kays Ruiz-Atil
Key statistics
• Neymar is the first player in the history of the European Cup to score 20 goals with two different teams (Barcelona and Paris).
• At just 21 years and 11 months, Mbappé became the youngest player to reach 20 goals in the UEFA Champions League, surpassing the previous mark held by Lionel Messi (22 years and 8 months).
2 minute recap: Man United – Paris 1-3
• The away team have been victorious on all four occasions that Paris and United have met in the UEFA Champions League.
Who is in command?
Pochettino ended a 13-month hiatus as coach by assuming the reins of the French team on January 2. The 48-year-old Argentine made it to the UEFA Champions League final with Tottenham in 2019, but left before the end of that calendar year; a similar fate befell his predecessor at PSG, Tuchel, in 2020.
