Neymar pleased with match-winning hat-trick against Red Star Belgrade

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar has admitted that he is pleased after bagging a hat-trick during the 6-1 Champions League triumph over Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday night. The Brazil international was back to his best with a couple of goals from free-kicks and this ensured a comfortable triumph for the hosts, who opened their points tally for this season’s competition.

Speaking after the game, Neymar admitted that the result was ‘great’ for both him and the team but stressed that there is more room for improvement with Les Parisiens aiming to reach the latter stages of the competition, he said: “I told the coach: ‘Do not take me off!’ I was joking — there is a great affinity between us. We speak often. I always want to play the full 90 minutes, though.

“It was a great game for the team and me. We controlled the match, created plenty of chances and the win was important. There is a lot of room for physical and technical improvement, of course, but I have already said that February and March are the aim for that as the most important Champions League and Ligue 1 games are around that time.”

Paris Saint-Germain have struggled to reach beyond the quarter-final stage of the Champions League final stage over the past two decades and the statistic has only turned worse of late with back-to-back round of 16 exits. Regardless of this, the team have continued to progress with big-name signings in the form of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe and the current season could be a make or break for Les Parisiens.

Both Neymar and Mbappe have been tipped for probable departures from Parc des Princes despite only joining them last summer but that could become a reality in the future, should the Capital outfit fail to overcome their Champions League knockout hurdle. Les Parisiens are scheduled to face Lyon in Ligue 1 this weekend before heading into the international break.