adminBARCELONA. — With sublime control, a back heel flick, a pirouette and a sweet volleyed finish, Neymar fashioned a glorious goal at the Nou Camp on Sunday to rekindle memories of Barcelona’s greatest Brazilian wizards. Neymar’s second goal in the 3-0 win over Villarreal took the breath away, particularly echoing the heyday of Ronaldinho, the last Brazilian to turn the grand stadium into his own personal art gallery.
He had already scored once and Barca were cruising at 2-0 when, with five minutes left, Neymar, no stranger to scoring splendid solo goals, produced the masterpiece which left the crowd wondering if it might even have eclipsed some of their absent hero Lionel Messi’s finest works.
Cushioning the ball on his chest, Neymar flicked the ball with the back of his heel insolently over the top of his head, befuddling the unfortunate defender Jaume Costa while simultaneously spinning to strike his volley into the net. Pure genius.
It was just a moment of magic that brought the Nou Camp to its feet, as Neymar flicked the ball over Villarreal’s Costa’s head before volleying home to bring back memories of Paul Gascoigne’s strike against Scotland.
It was another mesmerising performance from the Brazilian, who continues to fill the void left by injury-stricken Lionel Messi, as he scored his 11th league goal of the season. Speaking to reporters after helping the La Liga leaders to another comfortable win, Neymar admitted the move was something he had planned throughout the clash.
He said: “I thought about the move (that led to his second goal) in advance and it came off.
“I’m happy with my contribution to the team but I think I can improve even more. Together with my team-mates, we have to keep growing. “We played really well, we created a lot of chances throughout the game. We have to carry on like this. Everyone played well against Villarreal, who are a great team.” After Real Madrid slipped up 3-2 away to Sevilla, the Catalonian side took full advantage with a dominant display on Sunday.
The win against high-flying Villarreal saw them extend their lead at the top by three points, with the El Clasico the first game back after the international break. With Messi likely to be ruled out the clash at the Bernabeu, Luis Enrique needs his two talisman, Luis Suarez and Neymar, to continue their excellent goalscoring form.
In the absence of the injured Messi, the responsibility has fallen on Neymar to provide creativity and leadership and here was the perfect illustration of how he is relishing the role. Sunday’s double makes him Sianish La Liga’s top scorer with 11 goals and left his manager Enrique purring about the pleasure of watching a “special” player.
“I had the fortune to play alongside Ronaldinho and we would stand and watch him practice with the ball. With Neymar it is in some ways similar, they are special players,” Luis Enrique told a news conference. “His goal stood out but also his style of play, the way he works for the teams and helps out defensively.”
Always with a toothy smile on his face, the charismatic Ronaldinho inspired Barca to two La Liga titles and the 2006 Champions League before he lost his way. The Neymar-inspired Barca now lead the La Liga table by three points after Real Madrid’s defeat away to Sevilla and the two bitter rivals go head-to-head in their next game following the international break.
Luis Enrique gave no clues though as to whether he expects Messi to have recovered from his knee injury for the match. “He is in the process of recovering and we will see,” he said. “The only thing that we have been concerned about since he got injured was that he recovers well. We are infinitely stronger with Messi.” — Reuters.
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