Neymar struggled for most part of his career in Barcelona having difficulty in finding the back of the net. He is permanently hounded by his opponents, often at the receiving end of brutal and physical fouls just to prevent him from scoring for Barcelona.
But it was different on Sunday night, receiving a pass from Andres Iniesta who was swarmed by Real Madrid defenders in the middle in the 19th minute, Neymar displaying his trademark superior dribbling slotted a goal after his shot bounced between the legs of Daniel Carvajal as Barcelona lead Real Madrid by a goal at the half.
Neymar almost padded his goal and his teams lead when in the 54th minute, Andres Iniesta lobbed Neymar to the left that resulted in Neymar's brokeaway from Rafael Varane. Neymar's rifle was however blocked by Diego Lopez.
Real Madrid on the other hand, fought toe to toe throughout the game. It even dominated possession with its pinpoint passing and aggressive tackling and interceptions. Its heads up play was almost rewarded when in the 58th minute Cristiano Ronaldo's on target shot was blocked by Basilio Valdes. In the 72nd minute, Real Madrid almost equalized with Barcelona when Karim Benzema fired a cracker just outside the penalty box that rattled the crossbar.
However, it was Barcelona who got the better luck of the game. In the 78th minute, substitute Alexi Sanchez received a through ball from Neymar. Sanchez broke away from his marker Rafael Varane and engaged him in a one on one play. Sanchez controlled the ball and squared as if to penetrate the penalty area, but sensing that Diego Lopez came near for a possible sweep or block, Sanchez took a chance and fired a chip shot. Diego Lopez hand was unable to reach the high arching ball and the ball found the back of the net and sent the crowd at Camp Nou in frenzy. Sanchez shot is one of the most beautiful and memorable goal scored by Barca this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo on the other hand, spent most of the last ten minutes of the game ranting and complaining about a penalty not given to him after he was fouled by Adriano inside the box. His rant continues even after the Sanchez goal that earned the ire of the official. Cristiano Ronaldo was booked for his insistent rants.
Real Madrid finally broke into the scoring table after a fierce counter attack involving Ronaldo and substitute Jese Rodriguez. After receiving the rebound, Ronaldo raced towards the Barca goal and then squared to a streaking Jese Rodriguez to smash the ball into the net before a hapless Basilio Valdes.
With the win, Barcelona further broke away from Real Madrid by earning additional three points. The win is also the first for coach Gerardo Tata Martino who like Neymar made their debut to the El Clasico.
