Neymar claims ‘FATE’ led him to celebrate wildly in front of Joshua Kimmich after he said Bayern Munich were better than PSG… as he teases rivals by likening their possession to ‘flirting with a girl all night before she goes home with someone else’
- Neymar said he wasn’t trying to provoke Kimmich despite celebrating in his face
- The PSG man was delighted after they reached the Champions League semi-final
- Bayern won the second leg in Paris 1-0 but were knocked out on away goals
- Neymar teased Bayern by comparing their display to a failed romantic pursuit
Neymar has insisted his wild celebrations in front of Joshua Kimmich was not intended to provoke the Bayern Munich man by claiming it was just ‘fate’.
Paris Saint-Germain avenged last year’s Champions League final defeat over Bayern by knocking the holders out on Tuesday night to book their place in the last four.
Ex-PSG forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting had made it 3-3 on aggregate when he netted in the 40th minute in the French capital, but Bayern could not find that all-important second they needed to progress.
Neymar has insisted he did not try to provoke Joshua Kimmich despite celebrating in his face
A downbeat Kimmich kept his cool and did not retaliate despite Neymar’s celebrations
Despite losing 1-0 on the night, PSG sneaked through on away goals to take a step closer to finally ending their wait for a Champions League trophy.
Neymar, who was reduced to tears when PSG were beaten in last year’s final, was running on high emotions again on Tuesday night and roared in pure joy with Leandro Paredes right in front of Kimmich’s face when the final whistle sounded.
Kimmich didn’t retaliate, but the Brazilian has now defended his actions by claiming it was ‘fate’ that led him to celebrate in front of the Bayern star before rubbing salt in the German side’s wounds by likening their second-leg performance to a failed romantic pursuit.
Speaking after the game to L’Equipe, Neymar said: ‘The celebration was not trying to provoke Kimmich, but I saw Leo (Paredes) and wanted to celebrate with him.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored the only goal of the night but PSG advanced on away goals
Neymar put his head in his hands and looked emotional as he reflected on PSG’s win
‘Fate wanted us to do it in front of Kimmich who had said that his team was the best and that they were going to qualify for the semi-finals.
‘But you can have possession of the ball, you can flirt with a girl the whole night, and then see her someone else take her home after just five minutes.’
Neymar, who also revealed that he’s told Mauricio Pochettino he is saving his goals for the semi-final added: ‘I am very happy, despite the defeat’, he told RMC Sport.
‘We came up against a great team. We are also a great team and we showed it tonight. We have eliminated the champions of Europe.
Neymar revealed afterwards he’s told Mauricio Pochettino he is saving his goal for the semis
‘The objectives have been respected, now we are in the semi-final and we have to work even more, improve and hope to have a good semi-final.
‘It is true that we speak a lot with each other, we are truly a team. Marquinhos spoke to us during the match to help organise us. We saw that [Angel] Di Maria ran a lot today, we have to congratulate everyone.’
Next up for the French champions is a clash between Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund with the German side trailing 2-1 ahead of the second leg on Wednesday night.
