What did Neymar say to Benjamin Pavard after red card? PSG superstar's angry reaction revealed after lunging tackle on Lionel Messi
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) forward Neymar was furious at Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard following his reckless tackle on Lionel Messi during their high-profile UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday.
The Bavarians took control of the Round of 16 tie with a narrow 1-0 win at the Parc des Princes. However, the hosts rallied late in the second half in search of an equalizer, with Pavard's sending off in injury time setting up a nervy finish.
The 26-year-old French defender was given his marching orders after earning a second yellow card from referee Michael Oliver for a reckless tackle on Messi near the penalty box.
Benjamin Pavard gets sent off after this tackle on Lionel Messi 🤕 https://t.co/DAJ2B3MmT2
The incident provoked Neymar, who himself was in a constant battle with the Frenchman during the encounter. Pavard picked up his first yellow card of the game in the 26th minute following a tackle on the Brazilian forward.
Meanwhile, the PSG superstar immediately approached Pavard after his sending off and was clearly heard telling him, "You're crazy!"
Neymar calling pavard crazy for trying to break messi’s leg ðŸ˜ðŸ˜he’s so real https://t.co/yIgFia2fjB
Pavard's red card now comes as a big blow for Bayern Munich as he will miss the return leg against the Parisiens on March 8.
The Bavarians, however, took control of the tie against PSG, who were without superstar Kylian Mbappe for much of clash. The only goal of the game was scored by Paris-born Kingsley Coman, who latched onto a cross from Alphonso Davies in the 53rd minute.
"It was 50-50" - Julian Nagelsmann reacts to Benjamin Pavard's tackle on PSG star Lionel Messi
Bayern Munich secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory during their first-leg encounter against PSG. However, the victory came at a cost, as defender Pavard was sent off for a harsh tackle on Lionel Messi in stoppage time.
It was the second booking picked up by the French defender on the night, after previously fouling Neymar in the 26th minute.
Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann showered praise on Pavard in his post-match comments, saying the Frenchman "had a brilliant match" and that the decision to send him off was "not very good."
As seen in Goal, Nagelsmann said:
"The red card is not very good, especially since 'Benji' had a brilliant match. It was a difficult situation with a lot of speed at Messi. It was 50-50, between tackling or not. It's not very good for the second leg but that's how it is. He was brilliant so it's important."
Nagelsmann also said he was "very surprised" by PSG's "passive" approach.
"You had the feeling that we were very surprised that we had the ball so much and Paris wanted to do relatively little. I knew they always defend deep, but the fact that they're so passive and so very deep and not really designed to win the ball surprised me a bit."