Neymar and Luis Suarez set to take goalscoring baton from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational move to Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009 saw the beginning of a duel between the Portuguese and the Argentine, Leo Messi that has given a new dimension to rivalry in sports.
The tug-of-war for supremacy between the two has been of such magnitude that, each has been the top scorer in the La Liga three times over the last six seasons, putting other players to shame in the process.
This season has so far been a different story. With Messi out since the 26th of September, due to a tear in his internal collateral ligament, Neymar and Suarez have taken upon themselves the responsibilities of the Argentine captain. The Barcelona duo have been nothing short of transcendental, scoring goals and setting each other up.
Neymar has racked up 13 goals and six assists in all competitions for Barcelona this season so far while Suarez has 12 goals and four assists to his name, occupying the top two scoring spots in the Primera Division. Between the two, they have scored all the 16 League goals for the Blaugrana since Messi’s injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo has not had a bad season by any means. The 30-year-old has scored 13 goals in 14 outings for his club. Yet five of his eight Liga goals have come in a single match against a weak Espanyol team, that are languishing in the wrong half of the table. He has remained out of the score sheet for 7 of the 11 league games.
On Sunday, in the match against 5th placed Villareal, the South American duo rose to the occasion once again. Villareal caused problems for the Barcelona attackers at the start. With their compact defence, they managed to keep it 0-0 till half-time, despite a host of chances created by the home side.
The breakthrough moment came when Sergio Busquets found Neymar with a searching through ball and the Brazilian made no mistakes and scored from the centre of the box with his left foot. Nine minutes later, Jaume Costa brought down Munir in the box and the referee pointed straight to the spot. Suarez doubled the lead from the spot, as Neymar passed on his duties to his attack partner.
However, the best moment of the game came in the dying minutes of the second half, when Suarez slipped in a bouncing pass inside the box. Neymar absolutely stunned the home crowd, as he controlled the ball, flipped it over a defender’s head and volleyed the ball into the opposition net. All in the split of a second, much to the bewilderment of the defender and the Villareal goalkeeper. Camp Nou resonated with a thunderous applause as Barcelona finished the game 3-0.
With Messi’s absence and Ronaldo’s run of indifferent form, it increasingly looks like Suarez and Neymar are likely to break the Pichichi duopoly previously held by the Portuguese and the Argentine for the first time in seven years.
| Position | Player | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Neymar | Barcelona | 11 |
| 2 | Luis Suarez | Barcelona | 9 |
| 3 | Imanol Agirretxe | Real Sociedad | 8 |
| 3 | Javi Guerra | Rayo Vallecano | 8 |
| 3 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 8 |
| 6 | Ruben Castro | Real Betis | 7 |
| 6 | Lucas | Deportivo La Coruna | 7 |
| 6 | Aritz Aduriz | Atletic Club | 7 |
| 6 | Nolito | Celta Vigo | 7 |
| 10 | Borja Baston | Eibar | 6 |
| 10 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 6 |
| 10 | Iago Aspas | Celta Vigo | 6 |