Barcelona's Front 3 Click, but Neymar Has to Deliver Top Quality More Often

Barcelona's big 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday night had the dual impact of both keeping them in touch with leaders Real Madrid and also putting a buffer between themselves and Atleti, chasing in third.

The victory was very much a result of Barca's more impressive attacking power, with the much-heralded front three of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar all working together intelligently and to great effect.

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How's that for a photo from Barcelona's 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid last night. Neymar, Suarez and Messi all scored. pic.twitter.com/PKOmxo5nSo

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) January 12, 2015"

After a difficult week, it was exactly what the Catalan side needed—now they need the front three to show much more consistency, particularly Neymar, over the remainder of the season to achieve their aims.

Three

Barcelona's midfield has been chopped and changed an enormous amount by Luis Enrique this term: Xavi started on the periphery, Andres Iniesta picked up an injury, Ivan Rakitic started well then faced criticism and even Sergio Busquets has been lacking form. For the most part, though, the front three has remained in place since Suarez returned from suspension.

The one notable departure from that—Messi and Neymar on the bench against Real Sociedad—didn't end well.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

An all-South American trio, they provide immense technical quality, have great scoring prowess between them and should comfortably reach 60 goals for the campaign. Suarez is settling in well and provides fierce combative spirit, Messi continues to float all over the right half of the pitch to create as well as score and Neymar has emerged as a reliable scorer.

It wasn't just his goal against Atletico that impressed, though; rather his relentless running at the defence, his withstanding heavy challenges and the amount of times he linked with his partners.

Neymar

It has been quite some time since Neymar put such a complete display in for Barcelona, a "Brazil" type of performance where much of the play went through him—he was a continual out-ball for the team and he attacked with verve, confidence and ambition.

Juanfran couldn't cope. Josema Gimenez was lucky not to be sent off for a terrible foul on him—not even a card was shown.

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Neymar's ankle after being brutally tackled by Atletico's Gimenez. And YES ref said no foul. pic.twitter.com/G4WVfoL9Hq

— Neymar Jr. (@NeyMarvellous) January 12, 2015"

Lionel Messi might have been the playmaker, but Neymar made the attacks dangerous. His pace, his movement and his footwork were all right on point, while his effort and endeavour got him the opening goal in the first place. It was exactly what they wanted from the front three, but this from Neymar in particular was a stand-out performance.

Big Game, Every Game

It's not enough to just do it against Atletico, though. Neymar started the season in great scoring form but only has that one league goal from Sunday since late November to his name. This is the kind of display he needs to show the capacity to deliver week after week, game after game, against all kinds of opponents.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

It is this relentless consistency that has driven team-mate Messi to the top of the world, a similar trait which saw Suarez rated as one of the game's top talents last year at Liverpool. Every single week, taking it to the max, scoring and creating.

If Neymar can do that, add such blistering inevitability to his game that he takes to the pitch expecting to score and put in a great performance, then not only will Barcelona be that much closer to the big prizes, but he'll also have a chance of—a year or two from now—being on the podium at the Ballon d'Or ceremonies which his club mate Messi will be stood upon Monday night.

Follow @karlmatchett