An eagle-eyed fan has captured the moment Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot appeared to smile as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe combined wonderfully for PSG’s opening goal in their 2-1 Champions League victory over the Italian giants on Tuesday evening.
Mbappe found the net just five minutes into his side’s titanic Group H encounter at the Parc des Princes, volleying home after the Brazilian set him up with an audacious chip that bamboozled the Juve defenders.
The Frenchman then doubled his tally with another sumptuous finish on 22 minutes to put the 2020 runners up in a commanding position going into the break.
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But the Old Lady fought back to half the deficit courtesy of a Weston McKennie header 10 minutes after the restart.
And it could have been a different result were it not for some heroics from Gianluigi Donnarumma in the host’s goal to thwart the visitors' pressure late on.
But the game’s finest moment came just minutes after it had begun and Rabiot, who was a teammate of both Mbappe and Neymar during his seven year stint with the PSG first team between 2012 and 2019, simply could not contain his feelings about the goal as he looked on in admiration, as you can see for yourselves above.
It was a reaction shared by many fans online, with one Reddit user commenting on the thread: “The eyes chico, they never lie. Sit back and enjoy.”
While another wrote: “Haha in total awe.”
However, Rabiot, who was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, has been outspoken about both Neymar and Mbappe in the past.
In 2018, the French midfielder told Spanish publication Marca that both players get certain privileges at PSG, although it wasn’t something that particularly bothered him.
“He's a very easy-going guy when he could be more arrogant," Rabiot said of Neymar.
"We know that he receives certain privileges.
"Kylian [Mbappe] does too.
"It doesn't bother me and I don't pay attention to it. I'm not jealous of anyone."
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Neymar’s performance against Juventus continues his fine start to the season for the French champions. The Brazilian has nine goals and seven assists to his name in just eight league and cup appearances so far.
Mbappe, meanwhile, has found the back of the net nine times in six games in all competitions.
PSG currently sit top of Ligue 1 with 16 points from a possible 18, level with second-placed Marseille.
Topics: Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Adrien Rabiot, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Champions League
The SPORTbible Team