Neymar's 4 goals inspire Barcelona's 5-2 comeback win at the Nou Camp

Neymar was in inspired form on the night against Rayo

Barcelona had to come from behind to beat Rayo Vallecano in what was a scintillating encounter. A set of 4 goals for the Brazilian Neymar, 2 of which came from the penalty spot put Barcelona in the lead and that’s where they stayed for the rest of the game as Suarez added one of his own. Rayo did score another one in the 86th minute but it didn’t affect the result.

Luis Enrique’s side have experienced a shaky past few weeks losing 2 of their last 3 games and losing their talismanic forward Lionel Messi to injury. It was imperative that they come into this game with the right mentality and they seemed to have that grit coming into the game. Particularly Neymar seemed switched on during the game, repeatedly taking on his opponents and leaving them behind.

It was the Brazilian who created Barcelona’s first chance at the Nou Camp as he was brought down in a dangerous position and won a freekick within the first 3 minutes of the game. Neymar’s shot from the dead ball situation came off the wall and barely threatened the goalkeeper, but it was an early statement of intent from the young forward.

Barca created chances almost at will, playing through Ivan Rakitic just moments later but the Croatian midfielder was unable to put the ball past the Tona. It was the first of many times that the Rayo keeper would keep the Spanish giants at bay.

Within the first 10 minutes, they home side had another great chance to go ahead, Luis Suarez was played clear through, but he took a quick shot anticipating much less time than he actually had and Tona was again there to stop it.

Then came the blow that should have knocked the wind out of the treble winners sails. In the 15th minute, Rayo’s corner was cleared out of the danger area but the ball fell back to former Manchester United player Bebe who zipped in a low cross that Javi Guerra met in the box to tap in past Claudio Bravo to give the visitors the lead.

Minutes after the restart, Neymar ran into the Rayo box and was brought down at the edge of the box, seemingly just inside the penalty are but no foul was given on that occasion. In the 21st minute, however, Neymar was brought down again and this time the referee pointed to the spot.

It was just 7 minutes after Rayo took the lead that Neymar equalised from the penalty spot. Between his first penalty and the second there were just 7 more minutes, but Barcelona relentlessly created chances even in that small period as Suarez was once ruled offside, Sandro Ramirez scuppered a one-on-one chance against the keeper and Neymar himself missed a chance before winning and scoring a penalty in the 31st minute.

The Catalan side went into half-time with that scoreline but could have easily had more. There was no looking back from here for the Blaugrana who were looking hungry for more despite failing to convert many of their chances.

In the second half, Javi Guerra was once again active as he went clear through early and forced Claudio Bravo into a save. With the very next attack Rayo once again threatened to equalise but a double save from Bravo kept Barca in the game.

The reigning Spanish champions needed at least another goal to calm the nerves and it seemed to be coming as Neymar went down the left side and instead of shooting tried to find Sergi Roberto in the middle but the pass was intercepted. Then in the 69th minute, when the tension was at breaking pint, Neymar gave Barcelona the cushion they were looking for while completing his hattrick.

The next goal wasn’t long coming as Neymar scored his fourth in the 70th minute an easy tap in into an open goal. Barcelona led 4-1 at this point and all goals were scored by their Brazilian striker. He then turned assister as he crossed in the 77th minute for Luis Suarez to score his first of the game and Barcelona’s fifth.

The visitor’s would grab a late goal but 5-2 would be a comfortable margin for Luis Enrique side to get the win. Not a convincing performance in defence for the defending champions but they got the job done on the night.