Neymar ready to deliver on Europe's biggest stage

Lisbon

PARIS Saint-Germain's (PSG) fortunes in the Champions League in recent years have been inextricably linked to those of Neymar, even before they bought the Brazilian for a world-record fee.

And if he maintains his recent form in Sunday's final (Monday 3am kick-off, Singapore time), it may make all the difference against formidable Bayern Munich.

At 28, Neymar is desperate to get his hands on another Champions League winner's medal, five years after he won the competition with Barcelona.

If he can play the starring role in a PSG victory - with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi gone from the competition - he will perhaps be accepted as the best player in the world, even with no Ballon d'Or in this pandemic year.

Stunning collapse

For PSG and their Qatari owners, it would validate their decision to pay 222 million euros (S$360 million) to take the Brazilian from Barcelona three years ago, after his first two seasons in the French capital were overshadowed by injury and constant reports that he was unsettled.

When PSG signed him in August 2017, they were still reeling in the wake of their spectacular Champions League exit against Barcelona a few months earlier.

After a stunning 4-0 win in the first leg of that Round of 16 tie, PSG collapsed in the return fixture in Spain. Barcelona scored three times after the 88th minute, with Neymar netting two of them, as Barcelona won 6-1. PSG, incredibly, were eliminated.

It was not the first time PSG had been stung by Neymar - when the sides met in the quarter-finals in 2015, he scored the first goal as Barca won 3-1 in France and then scored both in a 2-0 second-leg win.

But Neymar's first two years in Paris were one long melodrama. A brilliant player who was happy at Barcelona but had been eager to step out of Messi's shadow, he never appeared at ease in his new surroundings.

By the summer of 2019, it was no secret he wanted to leave. The move had been a mistake, but then it became clear the transfer back to Barcelona would not happen.

His first season at PSG was ruined by a fractured metatarsal which meant he could not help PSG try to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid.

Fast forward to 2019 and a new foot injury forced him to miss both legs of the last-16 defeat by Manchester United.

PSG lost on the away-goals rule after conceding an injury-time penalty at home in the second leg. Neymar, watching on from the sidelines, took to Instagram to insult the referee and subsequently received a three-match ban.

He did not appear again in a Champions League game for PSG until a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid last November. By which time he had accepted his situation and knuckled down.

Now he is central to everything PSG are doing. Neymar scored in both legs against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 and cried afterwards.

He was excellent against Atalanta in the quarter-finals and magnificent against RB Leipzig in the semi-finals, even if he did not score in either game.

PSG will hope Neymar - who has scored 70 times altogether in 84 matches for them - has been saving his next goal for the final.

Rise of Flick

Bayern manager Hansi Flick can write himself into the German club's folklore by lifting the Champions League trophy to complete his 10-month odyssey from interim boss to treble-winning head coach in his first season.

Flick has already led his all-conquering team to the Bundesliga and German Cup.

Yet he was only initially appointed caretaker coach when Niko Kovac was sacked last November following a humbling 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt. It was the 55-year-old Flick's first job as a Bundesliga head coach.

"We can all be happy that we chose Hansi Flick and put our trust in him," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "He's returned that trust a hundred-fold."

Bayern have won 32 of their 35 games under Flick, earning him a contract until June 2023, and are currently on a 20-match winning streak.

During his stint with Bayern, Flick has put into practice what he learnt in eight years as assistant coach to Germany head coach Joachim Loew until 2014.

Thomas Muller, who has seen nine coaches in 12 years with Bayern, is impressed by what he has seen so far.

Mueller, often benched under Kovac, rewarded Flick's faith with a record 21 assists in the 2019/20 Bundesliga after returning to the starting side.

Flick has managed the delicate feat of keeping Bayern's stars happy without relying on too much rotation.

Bayern have steamrolled opponents to reach Sunday's final by scoring 42 goals in 10 straight wins. The pinnacle was their jaw-dropping 8-2 thrashing of Messi's Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

Robert Lewandowski, the Champions League's top-scorer with 15 goals, has scored 55 times this season including a career-best 34 in the Bundesliga.

Victory on Sunday will see Flick graduate in 10 months from interim coach to landing the coveted treble for only the second time in Bayern's proud history after Jupp Heynckes achieved the feat back in 2013. AFP