Soccer: The 5 best games of Neymar's career thus far

The five best games of Neymar’s career thus far

Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and FC Nantes (FCN) at the Parc des Princes in Paris, on December 4, 2019. (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY / AFP) (Photo by BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images) /

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PARIS FRANCE – JANUARY 17: Neymar Jr of PSG celebrates his third goal during the French Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Dijon FCO at Parc des Princes stadium on January 17, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /

4. PSG vs Dijon – Ligue 1 2017-18, Matchday 21

For three seasons now, Neymar has been the most revered player in Ligue 1 when he is on the pitch. He is capable of flat-out dominating in league play on a game-by-game basis. The Brazilian has always found a way to make an impact as a scorer or playmaker.

But in a Ligue 1 match in Jan. 2018, fans watching saw the best of both worlds with Neymar being the catalyst as a scorer and creator. Against Dijon, he had a career-high six goal contributions with four goals and two assists in an 8-0 win. The PSG winger made the absolute most of his 122 touches with 15 ground duels won, 11 shots taken, seven successful dribbles and two goal-scoring chances created. This was the talent PSG expected to see when they paid the astronomical €222 million transfer fee.

On the score sheet, Neymar offered up a different way of scoring for each goal. He began with a floating free-kick goal where the goalkeeper was left frozen on his feet. He then followed it up with a trio of open-play goals, one of which left fans in awe as Neymar dazzled his way from the middle third past multiple defenders and up to the penalty box where he took an off-balanced shot for the score. He topped it all off with an effortless penalty, which was met with some criticism considering many called for Edinson Cavani to take the shot as he was a goal away from becoming PSG’s all-time goal-scorer. Nonetheless, the controversy should not take away from such a mesmerizing showing.

The performance was most noteworthy because he became just the second Ligue 1 player — Carlos Eduardo in 2014 being the first — to receive a 10 rating from the French sports outlet L’Equipe. Overall, only 11 players have ever received a 10 rating from L’Equipe, so this showing was one for the record books.

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