On Wednesday at the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Chelsea 5-2 in the first leg of their 2025-2026 Champions League Round of 16 tie (second leg on March 17). As we now do after every match, we asked our readers to vote for PSG’s best player of the game. João Neves (21-year-old midfielder) won.
A fantastic victory for Neves, whose assist for Bradley Barcola (23-year-old forward) on the opening goal was just one small part of his outstanding performance. He was particularly remarkable defensively, greatly limiting Cole Palmer’s influence on the game. His return was a huge boost for PSG.
The introduction of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (25-year-old striker) clearly deserved recognition, with 2 goals and 1 assist in 30 minutes. A very impressive move by the Georgian and coach Luis Enrique. To complete the podium, Barcola was obviously an excellent candidate, with a goal and a high work rate (including the pressing that led to the 3-2 goal). The contribution of Achraf Hakimi (27-year-old right-back) was also noteworthy, even if it’s clear he’s not yet at 100%.
Thank you for your votes. As a reminder, the top three finishers from each match are then used to determine the Player of the Month.
