With Lionel Messi out, this is Neymar's time to shine for Barcelona
The Argentine star is suspended so the onus will be on the Brazilian to step up to the plate
Against Granada Neymar has the chance to score his 100th goal in a Barcelona shirt
With Lionel Messi absent, it is Neymar’s time to keep Barcelona going in La Liga. He seems the most in form player in the squad at the moment. The international break has done nothing other than add to that theory. Against Paraguay he scored a magnificent goal. Neymar now eats at the table of Messi and Cristiano, the two greats who have dominated for the past decade.
“Sometimes you only learn when you suffer or make a mistake. I went through the phase of arguing at the wrong times, getting booked, it ended up hurting my team-mates and myself. I think this is the best moment of my career and I hope to keep helping my team-mates," he explained.
Against PSG he played a huge role in the miracle comeback, with Barcelona fans discovering he was a leader, and a huge weapon to combat adversity. That day strengthened the ties between the player and the fans. Now when Messi is not there, like Sunday against Granada, all eyes are on the Brazilian. More so with another heavyweight out too, with Luis Enrique giving Gerard Pique rest.
Barcelona need the three points against Granada, who are in grave danger of relegation and will be scrapping tooth and nail for them themselves, as they battle relation. “The squad believes we can beat Granada, we’ve done it in previous years, why can’t we do it again?” coach Lucas Alcaraz said on Saturday. He doesn’t expect them to be much worse without Messi, “they have a lot of figures at a world class level,” he said.
One of them, Neymar, is looking for one more goal to make 100 in a Barcelona shirt. He didn’t manage it against Valencia in March so the challenge carries over.
He has 14 this season, eight in La Liga. He notched 85 in his first three seasons. Numbers that show the potential of the player. Neymar hasn’t been at his very best in front of goal, but every other aspect of his play has improved.
The same Neymar, but more mature. More of a player. “Messi helped me a lot at the start, when I had more trouble. Someone with many Ballon d’Or’s by my side, saying ‘stay calm, play your game and things will be fine’.”
The No 10 is not there today, but Barcelona can count on another Ballon d’Or candidate.
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