Toulouse FC 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain: 5 Talking Points
Final score: Toulouse FC 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Goalscorers: Neymar 68' (PSG)
League-leaders Paris Saint-Germain travelled south to take on Toulouse FC in their Ligue 1 Matchday 25 clash at the Stadium de Toulouse. Neymar returned to action after being rested for PSG's 4-1 victory against Sochaux in the Coupe de France, earlier this week.
The Brazilian seemingly continued from exactly where he had left off, being a constant pain in Toulouse's backsides.
Twisting, turning and twirling in his own characteristic manner, Neymar's deadly combination of vision and ability saw him unlock Toulouse's defence on a number of occasions, before eventually breaking the deadlock in the 68th minute, beating a helpless Alban Lafont with the help of a deflection.
As a result of this victory, coupled with Marseille's earlier 2-2 draw against Saint-Étienne, Unai Emery's men have now widened the gap at the top of the table to 13 points. On the other hand, Toulouse's woes are bound to continue as they fail to escape what could turn out to be a very messy relegation battle.
On that note, here are 5 key talking points from the game on a sunny afternoon in Toulouse, France:
#5 Neymar makes it 19
Boy, does this man know how to put on a show. He doesn't move, he glides. He doesn't dribble. He dances. He doesn't just thrive, he also thrills. The kind of form he's in, you almost expect something to happen every time he so much as caresses the ball.
Last night was no different. The €222 million-man danced and pranced past the Toulouse players as he dazzled them into nothingness. He started the game positively, creating the first chance of the game in the 5th minute - before most of the audience had even made it to their seats - only for a far-from-home Presnel Kimpembe to smash it straight into Lafonte
Linking up almost telepathically with his teammates, Neymar bamboozled the hosts on numerous occasions, before and after scoring the only goal of the game in the second half - to take his personal tally to 19 league goals for the season - completing the game with a jaw-dropping total of 100 passes - the entire Toulouse side made 199 - with an accuracy of 81%.
Further, he made 8 successful dribbles (Toulouse made 11) and took a total of 9 shots (Toulouse took 3).
Neymar's biggest adversary on the night, however, proved to be the furniture. The second half saw the talismanic forward hit the post, as well as the crossbar in a cruel sequence of events that kept him from what would have been a well-deserved hat-trick - one that would've brought him level with Edinson Cavani atop the Ligue 1 goalscoring chart.
With Neymar at the helm, it's safe to say that Paris Saint-Germain are in good hands/feet.