Paris Saint-Germain can be a highly successful team if Neymar begins to defend as much as Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, according to Samuel Eto’o.
The Brazilian’s ethic came under fire after PSG’s 3-2 Champions League loss to Liverpool last week, and though he helped them recover at the weekend in a 3-1 success against Rennes, Eto’o has said that if they are to reach their full potential, more is required from the 26-year-old Brazilian.
And as a three-time Champions League winners, twice with Barcelona and once with Inter, he is well qualified to speak on the subject.
“We want to see Neymar running after defenders to help his team,” Eto’o told Canal+. “Cavani does it, but it’s not worthwhile only one player doing it. Mbappe also does it, but the key figure is Neymar. If he does it, the whole team will turn around and run.”
Although PSG lost at Anfield, Eto’o has suggested that they still have the capacity to get things right at the highest level – if they can get their attitude correct.
“PSG must play as a team,” he reaffirmed. “If everyone defends, they will have every chance to win. France won the World Cup because they defended well.”
The Parisian side will attempt to maintain their perfect start to the season domestically when they play host to Reims on Wednesday and then tackle Nice on Saturday. The following week, they are back in Champions League action with a home encounter against Red Star.
Neymar will be expected to play a key role in all of these encounters, having netted four times in seven outings for PSG since the start of the season.
Although he did not score in Rennes last time out, he still managed to hit the headlines as he gave his shirt to a young pitch invader as he was replaced deep in stoppage time by head coach Thomas Tuchel.
In sum, Neymar has played 37 times for PSG and has scored 32 times, laying on a further 19 goals for team-mates.