Messi, Suarez and Neymar have now scored more than any team in 2015
The Barcelona attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar – commonly known as MSN – arguably make up the best strike force in the world. Now, the stats are there to prove that they are up there as the best attacking force in the world.
Barcelona's most recent victory was a 4-0 drubbing of Real Sociedad where MSN made their mark again. Neymar scored two goals, while Suarez and Messi scored a goal each.
Top goalscoring “team” in 2015
This took the trio's 2015 goal tally to a mammoth 125 goals. To put this into perspective, MSN have scored 78% of the number of the 160 goals Barcelona have scored so far in 2015.
No team in the top European leagues have scored more than 125 goals in 2015, so far. Bayern Munich have scored 125 goals in all competitions so far. Paris Saint-Germain are close behind with 124 goals scored.
The remarkable trio have been in incredible form this year, with none of them showing any signs of slowing down or being rusty. The count might have been much higher had Messi not missed two months due to a knee injury.
Individual Performances
Messi, who was yesterday named the La Liga Player of the Year, scored 44 goals despite being sidelined due to injury. He is also one of the three finalists named for the prestigious Ballon d’Or. Messi has scored only nine goals in the La Liga so far, and will be looking to add to his tally during the rest of the season.
Suarez has settled in very well at Barcelona after initial setbacks. He has scored 18 goals for Barcelona in all competitions so far this season. The 28-year-old Uruguayan might have been unlucky to miss out on making the final three Ballon d’Or nominees.
The youngest of the trio, 23-year-old Neymar, has probably been the most in-form player of the three. In the past few months, the Brazilian has started to come to his own and play his natural game. Messi's absence definitely helped Neymar thrive and gave him the freedom to take up the main role of being a playmaker.
Neymar has scored 41 goals for Barcelona this year, out of which 16 have been for this season. His contribution did not go unnoticed as he joined Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the final Ballon d’Or list.
The fourth highest scorer for Barcelona after MSN is Croatian midfielder, Ivan Rakitic. Rakitic has scored six goals for Barcelona in 2015, followed by now-Chelsea player Pedro with five goals.
Recent Form
These phenomenal numbers just go on to prove how brutal an attacking force Messi, Suarez and Neymar are turning out to be. The trio have added extra flavour to the usual tiki-taka style of play that Barcelona employ.
In the five games that Barcelona played in the month of November, they scored 20 goals and conceded just one. Of these 20 goals, 17 were scored by Messi, Suarez and Neymar. However, Messi had played only three of the five games in November.
The table below gives details of the top goal-scoring "teams" in 2015. The only English teams to feature in the list are Manchester City and Arsenal.
Team | Goals scored in all competitions in 2015 |
Barcelona | 160 |
MSN (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) | 125 |
Bayern Munich | 125 |
Paris Saint-Germain | 124 |
Borussia Dortmund | 113 |
Real Madrid | 112 |
Sevilla | 104 |
Napoli | 102 |
Wolfsburg | 94 |
Fiorentina | 93 |
Manchester City | 92 |
Arsenal | 91 |
Messi, Neymar & Suárez have scored 125 goals between them in all competitions for @FCBarcelona in 2015! #UCL pic.twitter.com/Xt6esH83Nb
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 29, 2015
Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo are this year's Ballon d'Or nominees. Did Luis Suarez deserve a nomination instead? pic.twitter.com/4U9nBDyA7q
— bwin (@bwin) November 30, 2015