Joao Neves stole the headlines in France on Saturday night after delivering a remarkable hat-trick to guide Paris Saint-Germain past Toulouse in a pulsating Ligue 1 clash, with fans left astonished by his sensational goals.
The 20-year-old midfielder, who arrived in Paris from Benfica in the summer of 2024 in a deal worth more than £85 million, has already justified the enormous fee with his impact in Luis Enrique’s midfield.
Seen as one of Portugal’s brightest young stars, Neves was brought in to refresh a PSG side determined to dominate both domestically and in Europe, and against Toulouse he looked every inch the future of the club.
It took just seven minutes for Neves to announce himself. Positioned inside the penalty area, he launched into a bicycle kick that stunned the Stadium de Toulouse and gave PSG an early lead.
Joao Neves was the star of the show as PSG beat Toulouse in Saturday night's Ligue 1 clash
|REUTERS
Moments later Bradley Barcola doubled the advantage, but Neves wasn’t done.
In the 13th minute, a deflected pass from Achraf Hakimi fell his way near the penalty spot, and with astonishing composure he executed a second overhead kick, once again beating the goalkeeper.
By that stage the visitors were flying, with Ousmane Dembele adding a penalty before half-time. Toulouse briefly clawed their way back with a goal from former Leeds defender Charlie Cresswell, but PSG responded with a second Dembele spot-kick before Neves completed his hat-trick in style.
This time there was nothing acrobatic about it, with the youngster instead smashing a thunderous strike from outside the box, leaving the keeper with no chance.
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Late efforts from Yann Gboho and Alexis Vossah reduced the deficit for Toulouse, but the result was never in doubt.
The post-match discussion centred almost entirely on Neves, whose dazzling performance left fans and pundits scrambling for superlatives.
“Joao Neves pulled off one of the best hat-tricks you’ll ever see, every goal was just unreal,” wrote one supporter on X.
Another added: “Best hat trick of all time, all this while playing as a CDM. Generational player.”
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Toulose 3-6 PSG
— Siaran Bola Live (@SiaranBolaLive) August 31, 2025
Joao Neves hattrick berkelas ⚽️⚽️⚽️
CMF/20/🇵🇹
Gol Pertama: Bicycle Kick
Gol Kedua: Bicycle Kick
Gol Ketiga: Banger Goal
What A Hattrick 😱
Wonderful & So Class 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟pic.twitter.com/1KtjU8O0yU
For Neves, the treble was not just his first for PSG, but it also meant he had already matched his entire Ligue 1 goal tally from last season within two appearances of the new campaign.
Speaking afterwards, the midfielder credited hard work on the training ground for his acrobatic finishing.
“I’m very happy with the victory, that’s the first thing,” he said.
“And scoring my first hat-trick, I’m really pleased with that. It feels great to score three goals in this match.
“We played well, but I think there are still things we can improve.
"In the final part of the game, we conceded two goals, and that’s not what we wanted, so we’ll work on improving certain things.
“My overhead kicks? I’m happy with them, it’s something I practice in training and it paid off in the match!”
Neves’ display underlines why PSG fought so hard to secure his signature.
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Joao Neves celebrates with his PSG team-mates following his stunning hat-trick on Saturday night
|REUTERS
Signed to help fill the void left by Marco Verratti’s departure and add steel alongside flair in midfield, he has already become a fan favourite at the Parc des Princes.
Enrique will struggle to find any reason to drop him now.