Roberto Mancini believes winning the Premier League title with Manchester City is the greatest achievement of his managerial career.
The Brazil international-inspired an impressive turnaround for Thomas Tuchel’s men at Parc des Princes on March 11, opening the scoring in a match which was played behind closed doors due to the rising number of coronavirus cases across Europe at the time.
Neymar imitated Haaland’s celebration for the cameras, and PSG went on to book their place in the quarter-finals with a 3-2 aggregate win after Juan Bernat doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time.
The French champions celebrated wildly after the final whistle despite the absence of fans in the stadium, and Neymar led the entire squad in a mass-group photo copying Haaland’s pose once again.
The 28-year-old then took to Instagram to post an image of himself celebrating in one final dig at the Dortmund star, accompanied with his own “Paris is our city, not yours” message.
PSG midfielder Marquinhos says Neymar’s actions were pre-meditated, admitting that a fellow countryman is not one to avoid any potential confrontations.
“He likes that. Neymar is not just a football player, he is not afraid and always responds to provocations,” the 25-year-old said during an interview with YouTube channel Desimpedidos.
“After his goal, I asked him if he had taken everything out. He warned me, I told him to wait until the end of the match, but he told me to leave it and not to stop it.”
UEFA issued PSG with a formal warning for “unsportsmanlike conduct” after the match, but the club avoided a fine.
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Tuchel’s side are now within sight of a maiden Champions League triumph, but it is not yet known whether it will be safe for the current season to resume amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis which has seen all major leagues and competitions shut down for the foreseeable future.