The three famous forwards put the Catalans in control in an ultimately one-sided game away to Leganes as they made it 10 goals in a week between them.
Gary Lineker called them the ‘Harlem Globetrotters of football’. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar made the difference again for Barcelona on Saturday to make light of a match that had initially looked difficult for Luis Enrique’s experimental side.
Sergio Busquets was rested, with Rafinha on the right side of midfield and Javier Mascherano on the right of defence. Leganes squeezed the spaces early on and it appeared the Blaugrana would be in for another tough contest after their surprise 2-1 loss to another promoted team, Alaves, last weekend.
But then the MSN intervened. Leganes, in all honesty, proved partly architects of their own downfall. The home team attacked with numbers after 15 minutes, but lost the ball and when Suarez surged down the right flank, Neymar and Messi were all alone in the area. The Uruguayan picked out the Argentine and the conclusion was inevitable: 1-0.
If that was bad enough, what came next was worse: the Leganes defence passed the ball straight to Messi in their own half and the Argentine cut superbly past two players before squaring for Suarez to walk the ball into the net. The original mistake may have been a gift, but there was still plenty of work to be done.
Messi made the third with some superb skills in midfield, the Argentine lifting the ball over a rival’s head, controlling it on the volley and stretching to send Suarez clear with a perfect pass. The Uruguayan then rolled the ball to Neymar who scored to make it 3-0. Messi to Suarez to Neymar. M to S to N. MSN.
They had made it all on their own. They had scored all three, one apiece, to make it 3-0 at the break. They had made light of some weaknesses elsewhere on the pitch and they had netted nine of Barcelona’s last 10 goals since starting together for the first time this season (and scoring six) in the 7-0 win over Celtic on Tuesday night.
“Oh look who’s joined the goal scorers: Neymar of all people,” former Barca and England striker Gary Lineker wrote on Twitter. “MSN are ridiculous. The Harlem Globetrotters of football.”
The trident had proved decisive once again. In midfield, Barca had not been particularly dominant and although Leganes afforded the three forwards far too much space, the one-sided scoreline was all about the MSN.
Messi added another from the penalty spot in the second half to make it 270 goals for the three South Americans since the start of the 2014-15 season and Rafinha rifled home the fifth for Barca later in the game with a stunning strike before Leganes pulled one back from a fine free-kick by Gabriel.
By then, Luis Enrique had substituted Suarez and sent on Paco Alcacer as he looked ahead to Wednesday’s game against Atletico at Camp Nou. The Barca boss will want his forwards fresh for that match and, after their fatigued showing in the Champions League exit against Diego Simeone’s side last April, the MSN will be keen for revenge this time.
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