Someone had to go first. It just so happened to be Lucas Deaux and Guingamp who experienced the inaugural Neymar effect in Ligue 1.

Deaux, a seasoned defensive midfielder, was on the receiving end of the Brazilian's first nutmeg and sombrero, but Neymar took apart the rest of the Guingamp defence just as easily, almost like a child with his Legos. Deaux, with frank honesty, paid his tributes afterward.

"Neymar? He was incredible. I don't think he is human. He is a phenomenon, a genius really. Even if we were two or three on him, we couldn't get near him. I had never seen anything like this before. Good luck to the other teams," said Deaux after their 3-0 defeat to PSG.

Against Guingamp, Neymar touched the ball 128 times (only Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti had more touches), he scored a goal and gave Edinson Cavani an assist.

So Toulouse, who were up next, had been warned. Their manager, Pascal Dupraz, had a plan: Cut the relationship between Neymar and the rest of the Paris team and put him under even more pressure. "If we can cut the service to him so he can get a third less of the ball, he will shine less," said Dupraz before Sunday's match. "At times, we will have two or three players on him."

Toulouse were ready, their anti-Neymar plan prepared. They even opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes. Then, all hell broke loose, or rather Neymar broke loose. Two goals -- the second one an absolute beauty, dribbling past four players with a final flourish of a Diego Maradona turn -- two more assists and playing his part in two more goals. He produced one of the best rainbow flicks you'll see on a poor and frustrated Corentin Jean. PSG won 6-2 and Neymar touched the ball 118 times, in case you were still wondering if the Toulouse plan worked ...

The Parc des Princes has a new king. Forget Safet Susic, Mustapha Dahleb, David Ginola, George Weah, Rai, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Cavani, all wonderful players who have worn the Paris shirt throughout the years. Neymar is something else. He is a global superstar, a rare genius in the world right now. The fans are mad for him, not just in Paris but all around the world. In the French capital, there are still queues outside the club's megastores to buy the No. 10 jersey. Ligue 1 has found its new king, too, and one who could easily someday be remembered as the greatest ever to have graced this league.

It is not just his goals, his assists or his wonderful skill that most find impressive. It is his influence on the team. Ibrahimovic was a leader by being an imposing figure; people were almost scared of him. Neymar is a technical leader. He inspires his teammates. "He elevates them, makes them better," said Guingamp manager Antoine Kombouare.

The PSG players around Neymar have raised their own games to complement him. But you won't see Neymar shout or get frustrated -- a la Ibra -- if he doesn't receive the ball or if a teammate chooses an option other than him. His movement and his intelligence have shone through those first two games. He makes runs all the time. If he doesn't get the ball, he starts again. He is always positive, always on the move, always attacking, always dangerous.

Complacency has gone because of Neymar. Sometimes, in the past, even when Ibrahimovic was there, the Parisians would take awhile to get going, often playing at a slow pace, not always switching on. They would often still win but it would be arduous. The Brazilian does everything fast, with pace, rhythm, intensity. There is no sloppiness anymore. Before him, they would chug along. With him, they purr.

It also feels that Ligue 1 have raised their game since Neymar's arrival, almost as if they wanted to show the superstar that this was a good league for him. We have seen a lot of goals already, 84 in 30 league matches so far. Some of them have been absolutely amazing, such as Nabil Fekir from the halfway line for Lyon against Bordeaux (on his wrong foot too) and Radamel Falcao's wonderful chip for Monaco against Dijon. Just three weeks in and there have been some thrilling games and more people in the stadia as well.

We are yet to see anything amazing from Kylian Mbappe, though. The French prodigy who lit up Ligue 1 from January to May last season is having a torrid time. He wants to join PSG and play with Neymar and Cavani up front, but Monaco don't want to sell him to their rivals. The tension is huge and the 18-year-old has been dropped for the past two matches. When he watches Neymar illuminating French football, it can only serve to increase his desire to play with him. When you see the Brazilian on form like that, it begs the question, who wouldn't want to play alongside him?

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by JULIEN LAURENS

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