Neymar and Mbappe penalty row is over at PSG, but Galtier won't rule out Brazil star leaving

By Sports Desk August 19, 2022

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar have patched up their differences at Paris Saint-Germain, but coach Christophe Galtier has not ruled out the prospect of a sensational departure before the transfer window closes.

Asked whether Neymar might move on before the September 1 deadline, Galtier indicated it was highly unlikely but not entirely out of the question.

A spat between Mbappe and Neymar became apparent during PSG's 5-2 Ligue 1 win over Montpellier last Saturday, with the pair seeming to disagree over penalty duties.

Mbappe missed an early spot-kick but thought he would have a chance to make amends when PSG were awarded a second penalty, only for Neymar to take over responsibility and make no mistake. It was clear Neymar considered he was next in line, but Mbappe may have thought the duty remained his.

It has led to suggestions of a rift between the star pair that could prove disruptive in the dressing room, with Mbappe looking best placed to win any such tug-of-war after signing a bumper three-year contract in May.

He scored later in the Montpellier game but refused to celebrate, to the frustration of a number of team-mates.

Galtier said the matter was put to bed during training this week, saying: "There's no malaise. We have been making plans, saying what we need to say to one another. I can confirm that in all honesty it's been a good week with everyone working hard to prepare well for the game against Lille.

"I have been involved in every session this week and any incidents from the Montpellier game were over from the following day onwards."

PSG travel to face Lille on Sunday as Galtier returns to the club he led to the 2020-21 Ligue 1 title.

Galtier warned that his players have to show maturity when considering who should take free-kicks and penalties.

"We have to show respect," he said. "There are situations in matches when the coach is far away, and my players have to show intelligence to know at which point they can give a present to a team-mate or make things easier for someone else to gain confidence by taking a penalty."

When the topic of Neymar and a possible departure was raised in Friday's press conference, Galtier did not entirely close the door on the idea.

"There are always surprises in the transfer window," the head coach said. "I haven't heard anything about Neymar asking to leave. I can see him training and working hard every day. He is performing well in the games so far.

"There is no feeling that he is on standby. But the transfer window is the transfer window."

For now, Neymar remains firmly in Galtier's plans, and the coach is planning on having Neymar, Mbappe and Lionel Messi as a front three this season, the coach's first campaign since joining from Nice.

If PSG get a penalty at Lille on Sunday, there seems sure to be no squabbling over who takes it.

"Who will take the penalty?" Galtier said. "The players will know it."

Related items

  • Cooper sacked by Leicester after winless run Cooper sacked by Leicester after winless run

    Leicester City have dismissed manager Steve Cooper after a run of four Premier League games without a win.

    Cooper, who previously managed Leicester's rivals Nottingham Forest, only took charge of the Foxes for 15 games in all competitions.

    He was appointed in June, after Enzo Maresca left to join Chelsea following Leicester's promotion back to the Premier League.

    After going six league games without a win at the start of the season, Cooper appeared to have steadied the ship with victories over Bournemouth and Southampton.

    However, a winless streak of four top-flight matches, in which Leicester lost to Forest, Manchester United and Chelsea, while drawing with Ipswich Town, has seen Cooper lose his position.

    In a statement released on Sunday, Leicester confirmed Cooper's assistants Alan Tate and Steve Rands had also left the club, with Ben Dawson set to take charge until a replacement is appointed.

    Former Brighton and Chelsea boss Graham Potter was reportedly in talks to join Leicester prior to Cooper's appointment in the summer.

    The Foxes are 16th in the Premier League on 10 points after 12 games.

  • Southampton 2-3 Liverpool: Salah brace sends Reds eight points clear Southampton 2-3 Liverpool: Salah brace sends Reds eight points clear

    Liverpool went eight points clear at the top of the Premier League as they came from behind to seal a thrilling 3-2 victory over Southampton at St Mary's.

    Two second-half goals from Mohamed Salah turned Sunday's game on its head after Mateus Fernandes had given bottom club Southampton a surprise 2-1 lead.

    Dominik Szoboszlai had given Liverpool a 30th-minute lead by curling home via the far post after Flynn Downes' dreadful clearance landed at his feet inside the area.

    However, the outstanding Tyler Dibling was felled by Andrew Robertson for a Southampton penalty on the stroke of half-time. Adam Armstrong's spot-kick was repelled by Caoimhin Kelleher, but the striker kept his nerve to tuck home the equaliser.

    Armstrong then turned provider when Fernandes swept home Southampton's second in the 56th minute, but their lead would not last.

    Salah cushioned a searching Ryan Gravenberch pass beyond a stranded Alex McCarthy for 2-2 in the 65th minute, then saw his inswinging cross handled by Southampton substitute Yukinari Sugawara seven minutes from time.

    The Egyptian scored what proved to be the winner from the resulting penalty, and he almost got a hat-trick when he crashed a shot off the base of the post in the 88th minute.

    Southampton remain bottom of the table, five points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves. Liverpool, meanwhile, are sitting pretty ahead of next week’s meeting with Manchester City, who were routed 4-0 by Tottenham on Saturday.

     

    Data Debrief: Salah helps Slot into history books

    Despite a lacklustre defensive performance, Liverpool earned their 10th victory in 12 Premier League games this season (one draw, one defeat), thanks primarily to Salah's quality in attack.

    Salah has become the first Liverpool player to score in five successive Premier League games since the Egyptian himself did so in seven straight matches in October 2021. 

    His penalty, meanwhile, was his 100th goal away from Anfield for the Reds across all competitions.

    Slot has now joined former Chelsea bosses Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti as the fastest managers to reach 10 Premier League wins upon their arrival in the division.

  • Chelsea shake off fatigue against Man Utd to extend winning run Chelsea shake off fatigue against Man Utd to extend winning run

    Chelsea had to overcome fatigue, and survive a late scare, to beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Women's Super League on Sunday.

    Guru Reiten's 17th-minute penalty proved decisive at Kingsmeadow in a rearranged fixture that was postponed earlier in the campaign due to Chelsea's Champions League exploits.

    United came close to ending Sonia Bompastor's remarkable winning run and keeping their unbeaten start going when Melvine Malard's effort clattered the crossbar, but Chelsea escaped unscathed to move five points clear of Manchester City at the top.

    The Blues are just the second team in WSL history to win their first eight games of a season, after Arsenal in 2018-19.

    And Bompastor was particularly pleased with how her team, who mustered 2.1 expected goals (xG) to United's 0.2, shrugged off the tiredness to get the job done.

    "I think it was a tough game today, we were expecting that," Bompastor told the media, as reported by the Press Association.

    "United do not concede a lot of goals so we knew they were coming with a good defensive organisation, and we had to have a really good game with the ball.

    "Especially with the wind today, it was difficult for us to build and to play more, so I am just a bit disappointed at the fact we couldn't play more.

    "Sometimes the most important thing is to get the three points, especially because we have been in a run playing five games in two weeks. I think the players are a little bit fatigued as well."

    Chelsea have now won 11 consecutive WSL matches, which is their longest-ever winning run in the competition. The last team to have a longer winning run in the competition were Man City last season between November and April (14 in a row).

    Maika Hamano and Sjoeke Nusken had early opportunities for the Blues, before Mayra Ramirez was brought down by United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who was unable to keep out Reiten's composed spot-kick.

    Reiten has now netted six goals in her eight WSL appearances this term.

    Johanna Rytting Kaneryd wasted a good chance to put Chelsea further in front, when she elected to shoot rather than pass and her effort was blocked by Maya Le Tissier.

    That profligacy might have proved costly in stoppage time, but the woodwork came to Chelsea's rescue after Malard got a shot off following a neat bit of skill to evade Millie Bright.

    "Chelsea are the best team in the country, they're the champions for a reason. We said we would give everything from the off and the players have given everything," said United boss Marc Skinner, who was without injured striker Elisabeth Terland.

    "Both teams had to play the conditions, but the pride I feel for the team and their commitment to what we're doing, and know we can do, I'm proud of their performance. For us it was about being calculated and always opening up more in the second half, we changed shape in the last 15 minutes to really give an attacking threat.

    "We opened up, Chelsea took a few more opportunities. You have to balance the game, you go toe-to-toe with Chelsea and they probably win against most teams."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.