PSG v Newcastle – Neves’ strong words: performance, play-offs and squad | OneFootball

João Neves, 21-year-old midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain, stopped in the mixed zone after the 1-1 draw against Newcastle (video highlights PSG/Newcastle) this Wednesday at the Parc des Princes as part of the 8th matchday of the 2025-2026 Champions League.

Neves: “You can see that we always play very well.”

A strong start in the UCL and then a more complicated period, how do you explain it?

I think if you watch the match, you can see that we always play very well. Unfortunately, we don’t score the goals and that means we don’t get the 3 points. But I’m very happy with what we did today, with what we did in Lisbon. I prefer to play a good match and draw like this rather than not play well.

It was your return tonight, how do you feel physically?

I’m very tired, but that’s normal. I’ll keep going, we have a lot of people who help us rest and recover. So I’ll use that. I trust them every day.

Neves: “Last season, we played the playoffs and it wasn’t a problem.”

How do you explain that many players were below their level in this match?

I think we played a great match. We showed that we played very well. I think we can focus on what we did with the ball. We played well, like in Lisbon. But unfortunately, there’s the draw.

A draw that’s a disappointment with a playoff spot?

It’s not a disappointment, it’s sad because we dominated the match. But that’s how it is. We have to use the next matches to improve our game, it’s not bad, but we always have to improve something. Last season, we played the playoffs and it wasn’t a problem. We have to see the positive in all this.

Neves: “We have a lot of players.”

Surprised to see Safonov starting?

No, we have 3 great goalkeepers, so the coach chooses the best for the team, like in every position. The coach chose Matvey because he thinks for this match it’s the best option.

Have some automatisms been lost because of injuries?

Injuries happen in football, we wouldn’t want them but unfortunately they happen. But, as I’ve already said, in the goalkeeper position we have 3 great goalkeepers, and in other positions we also have players to play if there are absentees. There are players to do things in midfield if I’m not there. We have a lot of players.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.