Dani Alves: Neymar deserves his greatness... he showed why PSG wanted to sign him with debut goal

Dani Alves says Neymar showed precisely why Paris Saint-Germain were so desperate to sign him after the Brazil star began to repay the world-record outlay on him with a debut strike on Sunday night.

Neymar lived up to expectations as he showed his class on his Ligue 1 debut, scoring one and setting up another goal in PSG's 3-0 win at Guingamp.

The Brazilian, who joined PSG for a record-shattering £198million from Barcelona this month, found Edinson Cavani with a perfectly-timed pass after the break and the Uruguay striker added to Jordan Ikoko's own goal.

Cavani returned the favour with a perfect cut back and Neymar poked the ball home eight minutes from time.

Alves, who has formed a strong friendship with Neymar both at Barcelona and at Brazil, was not at all surprised by his compatriot's fast start to life in the French league.

The former Juventus full-back believes his debut strike will be the first of many this season, and claims the forward can be the difference between success and failure in Unai Emery's second season.

'I believe he showed why PSG wanted to sign him [Neymar], to be decisive as he was and help our team achieve good results,' Alves said.

'He performed well, and all of us had great expectations about this match too. We wanted him to have his debut and help us, and no doubt we're stronger with him now.

'A player cannot rely only on his name to make a difference, but also has to work hard and make things happen on the pitch. And that's Neymar's differential, he's not only a global name, he deserves his greatness.'

Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp welcomed his new team-mate by posting a picture of the pair following the win on Instagram, writing: 'Great win tonight, well done to everyone and welcome Neymar. Congratulations on your first match with PSG.'

Starting on the left of a front three also featuring Cavani and Angel di Maria, but given considerable licence to roam, the 25-year-old produced plenty of impressive moments in what will surely go down as a memorable start to his PSG career.

In the very first minute he almost picked out Di Maria with an excellent lofted ball forward that just ran beyond the Argentine.

And in the 15th his pass was moved by Thiago Motta on to Cavani, whose shot was blocked by the foot of Guingamp goalkeeper Karl-Johan Johnsson.

Neymar had his first effort on goal in the 19th minute, firing over the bar after advancing past a couple of men to the edge of the box, then delivered a superb cross that Marquinhos headed against the bar in the 35th minute.

It looked as though his assist for Cavani would be his most notable contribution, but within seconds of that effort Neymar put the ball into the net, firing in from Cavani's cutback.