Neymar has insisted his wild celebrations in front of Joshua Kimmich was not intended to provoke the Bayern Munich man by claiming it was just 'fate'.
Paris Saint-Germain avenged last year's Champions League final defeat over Bayern by knocking the holders out on Tuesday night to book their place in the last four.
Ex-PSG forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting had made it 3-3 on aggregate when he netted in the 40th minute in the French capital, but Bayern could not find that all-important second they needed to progress.
Despite losing 1-0 on the night, PSG sneaked through on away goals to take a step closer to finally ending their wait for a Champions League trophy.
Neymar, who was reduced to tears when PSG were beaten in last year's final, was running on high emotions again on Tuesday night and roared in pure joy with Leandro Paredes right in front of Kimmich's face when the final whistle sounded.
Kimmich didn't retaliate, but the Brazilian has now defended his actions by claiming it was 'fate' that led him to celebrate in front of the Bayern star before rubbing salt in the German side's wounds by likening their second-leg performance to a failed romantic pursuit.
Speaking after the game to L'Equipe, Neymar said: 'The celebration was not trying to provoke Kimmich, but I saw Leo (Paredes) and wanted to celebrate with him.
'Fate wanted us to do it in front of Kimmich who had said that his team was the best and that they were going to qualify for the semi-finals.
'But you can have possession of the ball, you can flirt with a girl the whole night, and then see her someone else take her home after just five minutes.'
Neymar, who also revealed that he's told Mauricio Pochettino he is saving his goals for the semi-final added: 'I am very happy, despite the defeat', he told RMC Sport.
'We came up against a great team. We are also a great team and we showed it tonight. We have eliminated the champions of Europe.
'The objectives have been respected, now we are in the semi-final and we have to work even more, improve and hope to have a good semi-final.
'It is true that we speak a lot with each other, we are truly a team. Marquinhos spoke to us during the match to help organise us. We saw that [Angel] Di Maria ran a lot today, we have to congratulate everyone.'
Next up for the French champions is a clash between Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund with the German side trailing 2-1 ahead of the second leg on Wednesday night.
dasacnoy
1296
low mentality / unprofessional behaviour led him to do this
Ankitjr10
1121
π
AnkitDhakal
736
haha..they are acting as they won the cl." we won cl by beating psg. psg have not won anything yet by beating us untill they think beating bayern is bigger than winning cl."..[Crylaugh][Crylaugh][Crylaugh].. dn have to say anything more...
Vawaeilory
687
kimmich is the best midfielder in the world neymar is the best actor in the world
Lilbaby2
618
How kimmich was looking at neymar π
dosblnpuy
537
If you watched the game you'll see it was not intended to make Kimmich angry. It was done out of joy! These media's are mafias, always wanting to ignite war here and thereππππ€£
fizzbizzie
486
kimmich showed maturity.. it's obvious they did it in front of him cos he said his team is better and would progress but the lad kept a cool head which explains why he is such a top midfielder..
hoeabiptuy
476
karma strikes back poor kimmich
Egenson1029
405
Kimmich is younger than both and yet acted more mature instead of indulging in a fight or argument.
SIDKAUSH
364
Meanwhile Liverpool before today's match [Crylaugh]
charitywale
325
Either to provoke or not to provoke, Kimmich behaved like a matured man. He just ignored them as if he didn't see anything. But Neymar should not be provoked if the same thing happened to him later or sooner
retilmopy
322
What really happened vs the media
babypian
313
Same Energy
RoshanDhanrajani
281
This man deserved to be man of the match .... what a performance π―π―
Kumire25
15
haha..they are acting as they won the cl." we won cl by beating psg. psg have not won anything yet by beating us untill they think beating bayern is bigger than winning cl."..[Crylaugh][Crylaugh][Crylaugh].. dn have to say anything more...
It was a big mountain to climb for PSG, no any other team would want to face Bayern with their current form. It was an achievement for PSG, i guess thats the reason for that wild celebration. Let them be.
Tacbluy
10
karma strikes back poor kimmich
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people won't show you this because they clearly don't like neymar.
Sidharth20
10
kimmich is the best midfielder in the world neymar is the best actor in the world
Kroos , Modric , Casemiro , Debruyne , Bruno , Kante all play cricket
Wrist10
8
This man deserved to be man of the match .... what a performance π―π―
[image]
Am not sure he lost any of the balls played to him. Still manage to give that killer pass even when surrounded by 2 to 3 Bayern players. He is a top! top! player.