Neymar's opponents have seen seven yellow cards

A dream partner, but a nightmare opponent.

With every match he plays, Neymar is one step closer to fully settling in at Barcelona. The Brazilian is progressively more in synch with Tata’s side and, what is more important, he is fine-tuning his partnership with Messi. The two players combine to score a goal in almost every game. Last Tuesday, that moment came in the 7th minute when Neymar sped down the right wing and then crossed to the far post, leaving the Argentine little to do except head the ball into the back of the net.

Neymar’s statistics confirm that he is adapting very well. He has created several goalscoring chances and the only thing lacking has been his aim in front of goal. He has missed more chances than he should have, sometimes due to poor aim, but sometimes due to excessive generosity, in particular with Messi. He has only scored once in the league from nine shots on goal. That was against Real Sociedad during Barça’s most recent match.

Neymar has become a very real nightmare for the opposition. Proof of this is the number of fouls he receives. He has been fouled 17 times in the league, and that is not all, because fouls also lead to yellow cards. The Brazilian has become a thorn in the opposition’s side. To date, their players have seen seven yellow cards for play involving Neymar. These could have been more, because the seven yellow cards are just the ones seen by referees, and they have missed a few others.

ANDRÉS ASSURES THAT AN AGREEMENT TO RENEW WILL BE REACHED

Andrés Iniesta has decided to speak about his much talked about renewal: "My wish is to finish here, and it's the club's as well. There is no complication. This is the best place where I can be. I'm 29, I know that I still have a few years of good football in me, and I want to live them here. It's not about money, it's about the wishes that I have."

"It's not a Barça – Iniesta war", the Spanish international concluded.

Talking about Barcelona's new playing style, he said: ""For me, there is no debate. Long passes have been made for a while now, as have goals scored on the counter-attack. We have to be in good shape, and when we are, everything is easier - be it attacking or defending. For good or for bad, this team has a certain way of playing and I don't think we've done bad by it."

Regarding the Elche - Real Madrid controversy, he said: "Sincerely, it's not that I don't want to give an opinion, just that I didn't see the game. I found out the result, and then like everyone else, I saw the images. In the end, to talk about the referees in these situations is complicated, because some people have one take on it, and others, another. It's best to leave the referees in peace. They have their own committee to decide what has to be done."