"Best in the world in his position"- PSG's Neymar expresses relief as Real Madrid star is set to be absent for Champions League
Neymar has heaped praise on Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro ahead of the second leg of PSG's Champions League Round of 16 tie with Real Madrid. Casemiro is set to miss the game due to suspension and Neymar believes the defensive midfielder's absence is a massive boost for PSG.
PSG will head into the second leg on the back of a 1-0 victory at the Parc des Princes in the first leg. The French giants, however, suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nice in Ligue 1 last weekend. Mauricio Pochettino's side have now lost two of their last three games in the league.
Real Madrid will head into their game against PSG on the back of three wins in three La Liga games. Carlo Ancelotti's side will, however, be without the services of Casemiro, who has been a stalwart for them in defensive midfield for six-and-a-half seasons.
He has made 36 appearances for the club in all competitions this season. Neymar has claimed that Casemiro is the 'best in the world in his position'.
"It wont be easy, Real Madrid have a lot of quality players. For me, Casemrio is the best in the world in his position, but we're not thinking about that, we have to win the game the same way, we have to play as well as we can," said Neymar as per Marca.
Casemiro has helped Madrid win two La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey, and four Champions League titles. He has made over 320 appearances for the club and has scored 30 goals.
Carlo Ancelotti has often been accused this season of overplaying Casemiro, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric. The Italian tactician is likely to include Federico Valverde or Eduardo Camavinga in his starting line-up against PSG as a replacement for the suspended Casemiro.
Neymar: “Casemiro is the best player in the world in his position”
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PSG forward Kylian Mbappe could miss the second leg against Real Madrid
Despite the presence of Neymar and Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe has been PSG's talisman this season. The Frenchman has scored 24 goals and provided 17 assists in 34 appearances in all competitions for Pochettino's side this season. He scored an incredible match-winning goal against Real Madrid in the first leg.
Neymar has looked a shadow of his former self since returning from an ankle injury that ruled him out of action for nearly two months. He has scored just three goals and provided four assists in 15 appearances for PSG this season.
Lionel Messi, on the other hand, has scored seven goals and provided 11 assists in 24 appearances for PSG this season. The Argentine is yet to return to his best, but has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks. Mauricio Pochettino's side have therefore been heavily reliant on Mbappe's goalscoring abilities.
According to AS, Mbappe suffered a knock in training. The French forward will undergo tests to see if he is fit enough to take part in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie with Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Kylian Mbappé has been included in PSG's Champions League squad to play Real Madrid on Wednesday despite his knock in training https://t.co/BcMp91HirL
The 23-year-old has been included in PSG's squad despite the knock he suffered. The Ligue 1 club will hope the forward can recover in time and make an impact in a game that could potentially define their season.