Five stars to watch in Ligue 1: Neymar, Payet, David …

Ligue 1 kicks off today with an Atlantic Derby between Nantes and Saint-Étienne. The French championship, the first to end the season of the five major leagues and the first to resume it in 2020, returns after a five-month absence. In this article we analyze the five stars of one of the most underrated tournaments in Europe.

Neymar

Neymar's fourth season in Paris will start in a different way than the previous ones. As we write these lines, the Brazilian is one step away from making history with PSG, since has managed to lead the Parisians to their first Champions League final, something unthinkable a year ago when he forced his return to Barcelona until the last minute.

Neymar's footballing fullness has arrived at PSG. He landed as a left winger who was open to face and has become a total player, that is, capable of playing a midfielder, midfielder or even forward thanks to his astute scorer. He has greatly increased his figures in French football and PSG has finally managed to compete in the European Cup in part thanks to the technical quality of the Brazilian star.

Kylian Mbappé

This season will probably be Mbappé's last at PSG. At 21, the French international could make history on Sunday against Bayern in the European Cup final, becoming one of the earliest players to win the World Cup and the Orejona. However, the forward wants to continue expanding his records in French football, a competition he won with Monaco in 2017 and with PSG in his two years in the French capital.

Although Neymar is still considered as the franchise player of PSG, the importance of Mbappé with Thomas Tuchel remains intact. Bondy's is the perfect complement for Neymar, since while one brings the offensive bite and depth to the space, the other is the one that generates most of the chances of the Parisians between the lines and is nourished by Mbappé's off-the-ball movements. A Mbappé who is a worse player when Neymar is not on the field and vice versa.

Mbappé's ambition is one of the attributes that best defines him. Although PSG have become a relentless steamroller over the last few years in Ligue 1, the former Monaco wants to keep breaking records and will seek for the third time in a row to win the prize of the top scorer of the championship, something that no one has achieved in the history of French football and that is a great incentive for a player whose performance has been exponential over the years.

Dimitri payet

Last season was one of the most unexpected for Olympique de Marseille. The French giant had not qualified for the European competition with Rudi García and the arrival of André Villas-Boas did not seem to generate enthusiasm in the OM fans. However, the ex Chelsea not only gave the illusion back to Velodróme, rather, he managed to qualify the club directly for the Champions League.

One of the keys to Olympique Marseille's fantastic season was Dimitri Payet. Like his team, the French international had one of the most comprehensive campaigns of his career. Did without the help of Florian Thauvin, a priori the star of OM and who was injured throughout the season. Without blinking, Payet assumed the leadership in attack of Olympique de Marseille and it became the fundamental pillar of André Villas-Boas's schemes. He finished the season with nine goals and four assists and he was once again that player who had amazed European football in 2016 with the French team.

In fact, Had it not been for the coronavirus, football would have been fair to Dimitri Payet. In 2018 and after an extraordinary year, the former West Ham He was injured in the Europa League final, preventing him from playing what would have been his first World Cup with “Les Bleus”. If COVID-19 had not disrupted his plans, he would have returned to the French team and there was even talk in France of a possible title in the Eurocup. Despite Thauvin's return, Villas-Boas will have to give all the stripes of the attack front to Payet, since Rudi García did not do it in his last season at the Velodrome and ended up paying for it in the form of results.

Wissam Ben Yedder

The departure of Wissam Ben Yedder to Monaco was a surprise to the world of football. In the best moment of his career, the French international decided to leave Sevilla to enter a doubtful project and without stability in recent years. Although the season ended tied on goals with Mbappé (18), the feeling is that the striker cannot be another year without playing the European Cup.

This season, Ben Yedder will remain at Monaco except for surprise. The arrival of Niko Kovac to the bench and from Paul mitchell to the sports management they have given the Monegasques a slight hope of straightening the course, since the Principality team has been finishing Ligue 1 for two years closer to relegation places than to access to Europe. Therefore, the continuity of Ben Yedder is more important than it seems, because Kovac's new project will revolve around him. In addition, it seems that this is the most consistent year in terms of signings for the Monegasque entity since it was proclaimed champion of Ligue 1 in 2017.

Jonathan David

After several seasons at a brilliant level in Belgium, Jonathan David lands in Lille with the label of having been the most expensive player in the history of the Northerners, who paid 32 million for getting their services. The Canadian, who already had the interest of half of Europe, comes to French football to cover the loss of Victor Osimhen and to try to be one of the best players in Ligue 1.

The signing of the former Gent has been one of the strongest bets of Luis Campos since he arrived at the sports management of Lille. Two seasons ago, the club had hardly any income and Signings of such depth were impossible to imagine. David is a special player every time he comes into contact with the ball. He treasures an inordinate technique that has led him to become one of the greatest talents in European football. Without being the same profile as Victor Osimhen, its quality and its superb occupation of spaces against the backlash are perfect for Christophe Galtier and his idea of ​​vertical football in Lille.