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Neymar fit for Bayern, penalty row resurfaces
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Neymar has been included in Paris Saint-Germain’s squad for today’s UEFA Champions League game against Bayern Munich after recovering from a foot injury, coach Unai Emery said yesterday.
The Brazilian’s return fueled speculation over whether the Brazil forward or Edinson Cavani would take a penalty if the French club is awarded one during the Group B game at the Parc des Princes.
The two players argued in the 2-0 win over Olympique Lyonnais nine days ago when Neymar tried to take a penalty instead of Uruguayan Cavani, who eventually had his spot-kick parried away by the goalkeeper.
“Neymar is in the squad to play the game tomorrow,” Emery told a news conference.
Neymar, the world’s most expensive footballer, missed PSG’s 0-0 draw at Montpellier on Saturday as the team dropped its first points of the season in Ligue 1.
Neymar and Cavani are likely to start alongside Kylian Mbappe in a 4-3-3 formation and Emery said he had discussed the penalty situation with the players.
“I spoke with each of them and they know how things will happen,” said the Spanish coach, who believes it reflects well on his team that Europe’s traditional powerhouses now see the French club as an “enemy” after its unprecedented close-season spending spree.
PSG spent a world-record 222 million euros (US$264 million) to sign Neymar from Barcelona and also welcomed Mbappe from Monaco on an initial loan deal that is set to become a permanent move for 180 million euros next year.
After failing to make it past the UCL quarterfinals in the last five years — and following its humiliating loss to Barcelona last season — those deals were the clearest signs yet of the determination of PSG’s Qatari owners to win the European Cup and it has upset its rivals in the process.
“When I was in Spain, I watched the big clubs — Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, the Manchester clubs, Juventus — and I saw that every year they would buy the best players in the world,” said Emery. “The team here has taken big steps towards competing with the best sides. Today, in sporting terms, we have more enemies.”
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