Champions League Final 2020: Neymar starts with a blast, ends in tears

Brazilian superstar Neymar brought the big game swagger but forgot about the big game performance.

Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel was forced to defend his $660 million strike force of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe after they were unable to find a way past Bayern Munich in a 1-0 Champions League final defeat.

PSG’s Qatari owners spent a combined $662 million on the pair in 2017 to win this competition but they went scoreless as the German’s won for the sixth time.

“We want Neymar and Kylian to score but we can’t ask for it all the time,” said Tuchel.

“I am proud because ‘Ney’ still had a match with an incredible capacity, he showed his mentality.

“For Kylian it was difficult, he suffered a serious injury, missed a lot of training. It was a miracle that he was with us at all.”

Neymar walked into the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, blaring music from a speaker he carried in his left hand.
 

He had a golden opportunity to stamp his mark on the game in the 18th minute when he found himself alone in the box.

But Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer was up to the challenge, making himself big and closing down the space before parrying Neymar’s low shot.

Neuer immediately picked himself up and made a second block a fraction of a second later to repel the danger.

Mbappe also had a great chance to score but shot straight at Neuer just before halftime.

As it was, Kingsley Coman, for whom PSG was his boyhood club, grabbed the only goal in the second half.

“I am convinced that if we had scored the first goal, we’d win the game 1-0,” added Tuchel.

“I had the impression that the first goal would decide the fate of this final.”

Neymar ended the game with a yellow card for chopping down opposition striker Robert Lewandowski and it was all too much as he openly shed tears while embracing teammates and opponents after the final whistle.
 

Bayern Munich head coach Hansi Flick hailed the “crazy” development of his treble-winning team in the 10 months since he took charge.

Bayern celebrated by launching Flick into the air after lifting the trophy which was sealed with a second-half header from winger Coman.

“I am proud of the team. When I saw the headlines in November, all I read was that nobody is afraid of Bayern anymore,” said Flick, who took charge when Niko Kovac was sacked.

“The development since then has been crazy. We deserved to win.”
 

Bayern Munich with Neymar speaker ??? pic.twitter.com/d0pUqzeAv3

— Anthony Kimani Jr. #StayHomeSaveLives (@AnthonyKimaniJr) August 23, 2020