UEFA Champions League 2018/2019: 5 players to watch out for in second round on Matchday 3
The second matchday of the third round of Champions League group stage matches kicks off today, and as expected, there are lots of entertaining fixtures in store for us.
The undoubted marquee match of the night would take place at Camp Nou as Barcelona hosts Inter Milan in a fixture which has a vengeance subplot as well as being a potential table decider.
Other exciting matchups include PSG's clash with Napoli, Borussia Dortmund vs Atletico Madrid while PSV vs Tottenham also promises fireworks.
The Champions League is the biggest stage of club football, and every player aspires to grace it, as the biggest players in the world showcase their talents to a global audience.
Different clubs are playing for different objectives in this season's Champions League and would be counting on their players to help them achieve their aims. Here are the four biggest players to look out for in this round of matches.
#5 Neymar
The 26-year-old is the most expensive footballer of all time following his €220m transfer from Barcelona to PSG in 2017.
The Parisians had bought the Brazilian in the hope that he would lead their assault on the Champions League, but an unfortunate injury ended his debut season prematurely.
He also had a disappointing World Cup with Brazil, failing to have the impact expected of him and he came into the new season with doubts expressed over his suitability as the man to lead PSG into the future.
Further criticisms were levelled at Neymar, as he put up another AWOL performance as PSG were beaten by Liverpool in the opening match of this UCL season.
He responded emphatically with a brace of two well-taken free kicks and a couple of assists in the next fixture, although with all due respect to Crvena Zvezda, they are not exactly the strongest of opponents despite their status as Serbian champions.
The fixture with Napoli offers an excellent opportunity for Neymar to showcase his abilities, as an oft levelled allegation against him is that he goes missing in the biggest matches for PSG.
PSG are currently lying in third place in group C, hence their clash with Napoli takes on extra significance, as the Italians are current table toppers, and would seek to consolidate on their top spot.
Liverpool are almost guaranteed to pick up three points against their opponents (with all due respect to them), so neither PSG nor Napoli would want to fall further behind, as any slip up could prove costly in this group which was billed as the group of death.
The Pertenopei are one of the biggest teams in Serie A, sitting second in the league and in Ancelotti, they have an experienced serial winning coach. So Neymar would be desperate to put the visitors to the Sword and send a statement of intent to the rest of Europe.