It may have been only Valladolid, but Neymar's night at Camp Nou on Saturday will likely live long in the memory for Barcelona fans. In the role reserved habitually for Lionel Messi, the Brazilian stole the show with a wonderful display of forward play in the Catalans' 4-1 victory.
The 21-year-old bagged two assists for the outstanding Alexis Sanchez, netted a goal of his own, played a pivotal part in the move for Xavi's strike and saw several penalty appeals turned down.
Two of those looked like definite fouls, but the Brazilian appears to still be suffering from his reputation as something of a play-actor.
"Neymar has one flaw," Valladolid coach Juan Ignacio Martinez said afterwards. "I am not going to say it, but we all know what it is..."
Gerardo 'Tata' Martino begged to differ. "From the pitch I thought the one in the first half was a penalty and also the one in the second half," Martino said.
Not that it mattered. In this form, Neymar looks like a global star in the making - although it remains to be seen if he can assume such protagonism when Messi returns from injury. |
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