Who has the best strike partnership in La Liga? Is it Real Madrid's Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo? Or is it Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Neymar?
Last season, I would have to concede that Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale outplayed Messi and Neymar in terms of both goals and silverware, with the capital club winning the Copa Del Rey against us in the final as well as the UEFA Champions League in an all-Spanish affair against Atletico Madrid. Between the two of them, they scored 73 goals in all competitions last season against the 56 scored between Messi and Neymar, who won no trophies.
This season the tides don't seem to be changing. With Messi back to full fitness after missing a large part of last season through injury, Neymar and Messi have scored 15 goals between them, with Ronaldo and Bale scoring 20. BUT, Ronaldo and Bale have only six assists between them, while Lionel Messi has seven assists by himself.
Statistically, the numbers are still reading better for the Real Madrid duo, who also have a piece of silverware to their names this season (a UEFA Supercup). However, Ronaldo's and Bale's goals haven't been as decisive, with a lot of them coming from matches where the tie has already been settled (including Real Madrid's 8-2 thrashing of Deportivo). Messi and Neymar have brought three points to Barcelona on four occasions this season and without them, we would have 12 points less in La Liga.
Our double act has been absolutely imperative to our team effort, with both players directly involved in 19 of our 22 goals this season. We can trace back 86.36% of our goals to the South American pairing. With 19 points and not a single loss to our name, we are currently on top of the standings and four points clear of Real Madrid. The proof, ultimately, is in the pudding, and in terms of deciding matches, Messi and Neymar are single-handedly leading us to a League title.
One can only imagine that, when Luis Suarez enters the fray, our strike force will be even more decisive… So, here's to what I'm sure will be the undisputed best strike partnership in Europe, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Let's hope there's plenty more to come from these two.
Which partnership do you think is better? Ronaldo and Bale, or Messi and Neymar?
