Lionel Messi Injury 'Lucky' for Neymar and Luis Suarez, Says Fabio Capello

Former England manager Fabio Capello believes Lionel Messi's injury was a blessing in disguise for Barcelona, as it's allowed fellow forwards Neymar and Luis Suarez to flourish, per Television Espanola (via Sport):

"Barcelona have been lucky with the injury to Lionel Messi. Neymar and Suarez have grown a lot without him. Before it was all Messi."

The duo has been ruthless in front of goal over the past two months and continued in that vein at the Bernabeu, where Suarez netted a brace and Neymar also got on the scoresheet in a 4-0 masterclass from Barca over bitter rivals Real Madrid, as we see below:

Messi returned from his lengthy layoff in the Spanish capital, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute for the ever-impressive Ivan Rakitic with Barcelona 3-0 to the good.

However, Capello believes the Argentinian's introduction had a detrimental effect on Luis Enrique's side, saying that "they should use players who are not in a good moment in a game like this. For example, when Messi came on, Barcelona got worse. You have to use those who are better in games like this, for what they demand."

Messi is undoubtedly a little rusty after his time on the treatment table, but his return to the fold can't be seen as anything else but a good thing—and the case for Enrique to play his three amigos at the same time is a strong one, as Squawka Dave revealed:

It's keeping Suarez and Neymar operating at their mind-blowing best that's going to be the real challenge for the Barca boss.

Yet it seems Enrique has got the latter playing the kind of football he's promised for so many years. His work on the ball has never been questioned, but Neymar rarely busted his gut in his early Camp Nou days. Now, though, Capello says that's all changed:

"I've never seen Neymar run like that. With Brazil, he makes runs of 15 metres. Here, they were 50. That's the difference, too."

Both Neymar and Suarez have certainly come into their own in the absence of the best player in the world, and that goes some way to making this Barcelona side the best team in the world.

Barca currently sit four points clear at the top of La Liga and six points ahead of Real, who need a drastic change if they're to catch their rivals at the top of the Spanish tree.

The Catalan giants reaped both domestic and European glory last term, and with their star man in such electric form, you'd be brave to bet against them repeating such a feat.