It took six Spanish League matches, but Neymar finally scored his first goal of the season for Barcelona in Tuesday's win over Real Sociedad.
The 21-year-old Brazilian had tallied for his club in the Spanish Super Cup (he scored the decisive away goal), but had struggled to find the back of the net in the team's first five league games.
There were criticisms circulating about whether Neymar was struggling to adapt to Barcelona or whether the club's passing mentality was actually hindering him. The questions about working with Lionel Messi came up with many stating that Neymar was working too hard to service Messi rather than looking out for taking his shots when he got the chances.
However, coach Gerardo Martino thinks that the Brazilian is adapting well to the team's new style.
"The press judge how he has adapted by asking whether he has scored goals or not, but he does a fantastic job in creating chances and recovering the ball," said Martino, according to Samba Foot. "He has adapted very quickly and I'm very happy with what he has done so far."
"Don't forget that he had a long summer with the Confederations Cup, his hectic transfer to the club and the long trips he has had to make which have prevented him from training properly. We are very satisfied with everything he has offered us," he added.
While Neymar has not been scoring goals, he has been influential in driving Barcelona's play forward and in many ways has helped reshape the team's attacking mentality. The Brazilian has always had the tendency to push forward when the ball is at his feet and look for the means of creating a shot and scoring. Barcelona's mentality has always been to slowly break down opponents with a methodic passing game; the team looks for the killer pass at the end of its routine.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
