Paris Saint-Germain right-back Dani Alves has reportedly hit back at Diego Forlan after he appeared to criticise the on-field dispute between Neymar and Edinson Cavani over a penalty kick.
The pair landed in a disagreement over who should take the penalty in the 2-0 win over Lyon, which Cavani eventually missed.
Following the game, Forlan came in the defence of his Uruguayan compatriot Cavani, who seemed to have been put at fault for the incident, he told Radio Sport 890: "What doesn't make any sense is what Alves does, he doesn't give the ball to Cavani and then gives it to Neymar as if he were his b----.Cavani deserves respect. He has been scoring goals for years, taking penalties. There has to be respect. Neymar would not have done that with [Lionel] Messi. He didn't want Cavani to take the penalty. He was like a little boy annoying him."
Alves had taken the ball from Cavani to give it to Neymar for a free-kick prior to the incident, and Alves was not impressed by Forlan linking it with the penalty argument. The world's most expensive footballer was also said to have exchanged strong words with Cavani in the dressing room last weekend, but manager Unai Emery has since rubbished the claims.
Meanwhile, latest reports suggest that Neymar has apologised for his actions against Lyon but has been left out of the Montpellier trip with a minor foot injury sustained during training. Les Parisiens have multiple options to use in their frontline, and the absence of Neymar is unlikely to hinder the perfect start to the Ligue 1 campaign.
Paris Saint-Germain face an exciting Champions League clash against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, and Emery could mull over the prospect of resting a couple more first-team players, just as he did prior to the Celtic game earlier in the month.