Neymar raised dust again on Sunday, August 28, 2022, when he took a penalty instead of Mbappe, as PSG came from behind to equalize against Monaco. The Parisians trailed their visitors by a lone goal despite dominating the game.
Neymar and Mbappe’s face-off may be far from over after the former Barcelona forward refused to allow PSG’s talisman, Kylian Mbappe take a penalty.
PSG manager, Christophe Galtier, admitted that in the match against Monaco, Mbappe was the chosen number one penalty taker in the game.
Neymar defied the order and took the penalty even when he was aware that Mbappe was the chosen penalty taker. He scored from the spot-kick to salvage a point for the host who wasted glaring chances.
Reactions have continued to trail the scenario, given a similar incident that resulted in a fallout between the two players.
Both off-pitch and on-pitch drama greeted the Parisians’ 5-2 win over Montpellier. The French giants got two penalties in the match. Kylian Mbappe took the first and missed. He attempted to take the second, but Neymar restrained him, grabbing the ball.
The situation nearly spilled out of control. Neymar went on to convert the penalty, but Mbappe was infuriated.
A similar scenario occurred against Monaco, but this time, the duo understood themselves. Mbappe allowed Neymar to take the penalty, although Neymar was not the first-choice penalty taker, as confirmed by Christophe Galtier.
Speaking on Mazon’s Prime Coverage after the match, Galtier confirmed; “Neymar was number two, while Kylian Mbappe was number one penalty taker in this match. Neymar decided to take the penalty after talking with Kylian Mbappe, who congratulated him.”
Despite bagging a hat-trick in PSG’s 7-1 win over Lille last in matchday 3, the French star drew blank against his former team. They needed Neymar’s penalty to secure a draw against a hard-fighting Monaco.
In a seemingly awkward moment, Mbappe missed an incredible chance to score just 6 yards away from an open net. Lionel Messi had fired a thunderbolt. It hits the woodwork and bounces back. Mbappe ran into the ball and struck to hit the woodwork again.
The game ended 1-1, with Parisians dropping their first two points in the current French Ligue 1 Campaign.
Despite a disappointing home draw, Galtie commended the robust relationship and communication between the two stars.
It appears the building beef after the matchday 2 game against Marseille has been settled, with both players moving on well.
Recall that Neymar had stoked the flames of the conflict when he liked a social media post canvassing for Mbappe to be taken off the role of taking penalties in the team.
Neymar’s seeming attitude towards Mbappe has been attributed to the purported powers that have been arrogated to the France international after signing a new contract.
Mbappe had allegedly wanted Neymar to be sold after his new deal with the club. This, pundits argue, is another reason for Neymar’s recent attitude toward Mbappe.
Whatever the arguments are, it was clear after the game against Monaco that the two top stars must have buried their differences.
