Aldridge: Liverpool must be wary of ‘cheat’ Neymar

Liverpool legend John Aldridge has slammed Neymar as ‘the biggest cheat in world football’ and warned the Reds that he will seek to gain an ‘unfair advantage’ in their Champions League meeting.

The Reds face an almighty test at the beginning of their European campaign as they take on a PSG side who have not only Neymar, but also wonderkid Kylian Mbappe and the prolific Edinson Cavani in their ranks.

They will not just have to contend with Neymar’s skill, though, since the winger is also notorious for his playacting.

He faced intense criticism for such behaviour during last summer’s World Cup.

And Aldridge says Liverpool must be ‘canny’ in their attempts to shackle the Brazilian, who he claims will try to deceive the officials.

“Liverpool have to be careful when they face Neymar because for me he’s the biggest cheat in world football,” Aldridge wrote in his Echo column.

“I couldn’t believe some of his diving and playacting at the World Cup in Russia. He’s one of the most gifted players but he lets football down with his antics.

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“Liverpool have to be canny because the PSG attacker will be doing everything he can to gain an unfair advantage.

“We need the referee to be strong and we need our defenders to avoid any silly challenges.

“When you’ve got that amount of skill, you don’t need to behave like Neymar does and it’s sad to see. It’s the reason why he will never be rated as one of the all-time greats, alongside the likes of Pele, Maradona and Messi.

Aldridge acknowledges the extent of the PSG’s attacking threat but is confident Liverpool’s revered frontline, roared on by the Anfield faithful, will be able to expose the weaknesses in the visitors’ defence.

“Kylian Mbappe is quick and has super skills. They also have a prolific goal scorer in Edinson Cavani.

“You have to give them respect but let’s not forget we got to the final last season. We’re a team where maybe they are a bunch of individuals.

“Defensively, PSG aren’t the best and I believe we can get at them. It would be great if this was the night when our front three finally clicked this season.

“Our support is second to none and creating that special atmosphere will be crucial to helping us get three points on the board.

“If we want to win the group then realistically this is a game we need to win,” he added.

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Source: anfieldhq.com