RIO DE JANEIRO - Neymar was hailed in Brazil as Paris Saint-Germain's "executioner" on Tuesday after his two goals against the French outfit guaranteed Barcelona's passage to the Champions League semifinals.
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UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg - Nou Camp, Barcelona - Spain - 21/4/15 PSG's Lucas Moura (R) and Barcelona's Neymar at the end of the match.?[Photo/Agencies] |
The 23-year-old took his Champions League tally against Laurent Blanc's team to five from four matches this season as Barcelona won 2-0 at Parc des Princes, completing a 5-1 aggregate victory in the quarterfinal.
"Neymar again showed that he likes to be the executioner of PSG," the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper said.
Neymar owed much of his man-of-the-match performance to Andres Iniesta and Daniel Alves.
Iniesta set up the first goal after just 13 minutes when he ghosted past the hosts' defence before playing a deft through pass to Neymar, who slid the ball into an empty net after rounding goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu.
The second came after his compatriot Alves swung in a precise cross that Neymar expertly nodded into the bottom corner.
"[Neymar] was gifted the goals by Iniesta and Alves," Globoesporte said.
According to Estado de S.Paulo, the Brazilian allowed Barcelona to treat most of the match like a friendly.
"The fact he [Neymar] scored twice in the first 33 minutes meant the rest of the game was like a luxury friendly for Barcelona," the newspaper said. "Barcelona began to play as if it were a training session, free of any worries."