'Neymar and Cavani are intelligent, they know they need each other'

Jack Ottman 7 years ago 3.7k
Emery is convinced that the controversy between Neymar and Cavani is in the past. AFP

Unai Emery appeared in front of the media ahead of the Ligue 1 encounter between Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, and he seemed convinced that the controversy between two of his star players, Neymar and Edinson Cavani, is a thing of the past.

"They both possess the quality to be the best in the world. Their characters heavily influence their performances on the pitch.

"They are intelligent, they know that they need each other but also their teammates, in order to balance the attack," the PSG coach told journalists, attempting to put an end to the controversy between the players. 

Emery also said that the clash at the Louis II Stadium will have two of the best finishers in world football on the same pitch: "Cavani for PSG and Radamel Falcao for Monaco."

On Monaco's start to the season, the Spaniard said: "They have the same number of points that they had this time last year [29]. We are better than we were at that time, which is the difference."

He also believes that Monaco's elimination from the Champions League may well work against the current league leaders on Sunday.

"They are disappointed with their elimination from the Champions League, after having a great campaign last season, but their level in the league is the same as last year and they will now have an extra motivation against us," the 46-year-old said.

Finally, he spoke about Kylian Mbappe and his return to his former stomping ground this weekend. "There's a different in the style of play. Last year he played centrally in a 4-4-2," he started saying, on the change experienced by the young Frenchman.

"Now he plays in a 4-3-3 where he's not just a striker but a winger as well, and he needs to learn to play in the small spaces to create openings, but he's doing well, making good progress and for him, it's good to return to Monaco to play, he can feel happy with the work he did with them."

And Emery finished by saying that he is convinced that facing Monaco won't be a problem for Mbappe. "Monaco are happy with his contribution and with the money thei received from his transfer; Sunday will be special for him, but he will defend the PSG colours 100 per cent," said Emery, to finish. 

Mentioned in the news story