In the Zone: How João Neves shone on and off the ball vs Man City

"What a performance in all areas of the game – he was offensively and defensively outstanding." With these words, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the UEFA match observer at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, summed up the display of Player of the Match João Neves.

The Paris midfielder did not just catch the eye in heading his team's third goal in the thrilling 4-2 win against Manchester City, he also impressed Van Bronckhorst with his work both with and without the ball. Indeed, as is illustrated in the following analysis clips, brought to you by FedEx, the promising young Portuguese showed he ticks the main boxes required of a modern-day midfielder.

To begin with João Neves' efforts on the ball, Van Bronckhorst hailed his "dynamic play in building up and supporting the attack". Clip one from the first half features the 20-year-old in possession alongside fellow midfielders Vitinha and Fabián Ruiz, and the first point to make concerns their movement. We see the constant rotation between them and the impressive way in which they scan and move.

Both Vitinha and João Neves are shown scanning, seeing the pressure arrive and then moving the ball swiftly on after just a couple of touches. For the UEFA analysis unit, it was notable how well they did move it, and the video contains more than one switch of play, reflecting their ability to work the ball from tight to bigger spaces.

João Neves evades a challenge from Mateo KovačićAFP via Getty Images

Even Pep Guardiola, the City manager, acknowledged the excellent movement of the home team, saying: "They all move with a lot of sense, defensively and offensively."

As the first video concludes, we see João Neves' aggression too as he reaches a loose ball in City territory ahead of Mateo Kovačić, helping create a shooting chance. "That was the key to the game – we tried to win every duel, every ball," said João Neves himself and this commitment is evident again in clip two, below, where we observe him counterpressing.

First he beats Jack Grealish to the ball before forcing his way past James McAtee in a determined piece of play that ends with him getting in a shot. He would end the match as the first-ranked player for both shots (seven) and pressures (26).

João Neves was not the only youngster in a Paris side whose front six – midfielders and forwards together – featured five players aged 24 or younger. Their energy was a factor in the "intensity" which Luis Enrique applauded afterwards, the home coach adding: "We're a team who are very uncomfortable to play against when we don't have the ball because we don't stop pressing and running."

To focus back in on João Neves, he capped a strong all-round performance with the goal that put Paris in front, which we see in clip three above. The former Benfica player had threatened when connecting with a free-kick in the first half and now, with the help of Willian Pacho's block on McAtee, he got free beyond the far post to find the net with a stooping header from Vitinha's delivery. "He turned up in dangerous areas in the final third and in the end it paid off for him when he scored," Van Bronckhorst noted.

For João Neves it was his first goal in the competition – the icing on the cake of a famous comeback that he will long remember.