What do you want first, mister Neymar, the good news or the bad news?



The good news is that when it comes to playing the role of footballing understudy, they don’t come any better than you, currently filling the ample boots temporarily vacated by Leo Messi, following the Barcelona superstar’s injury.



The bad news is that while you may be revelling in your role as the main attraction, you know better than anyone that when the Argentine regains his fitness, you will have to revert to your place as chief support, which may well be why, for the time being, he is holding back on the signing of a new deal with the Catalans.

The truth is, and you know it, this team is better with Messi that without it.

xxxxx



The penny may well have dropped that if Neymar wants to be ‘top banana’ where he plays, he might well have to achieve it somewhere else.



Meanwhile, however, Neymar along side strike partner, Luis Suarez have stepped up to the plate admirably and between them they have scored no fewer that 20 of the side’s previous 22 goals.



Munir is also justifying his inclusion up front while throughout the whole team there are improvements everywhere from a side that has conceded just once in the last six games, in the process making light of Messi’s absence.



The return in goal of Claudio Bravo has helped, as has the form of Dani Alves who is making far fewer mistakes this season and in fact the increased involvement of both full backs in attack has been a major reason for the upturn in form.



Sergio Busquets is also playing out of his skin, and Andres Iniesta is reminding us once again, in case we’d forgotten, just how great a player he really is.



All this after some initially tepid performances from a side coming down following their all-conquering exploits last season. Barcelona look to have their hunger back and that could be very bad news indeed for Rafa Benitez’s, Real Madrid as we head for the first Clasico of the season.



Messi himself has said that, Clasico or not, he will not return until he is 100% fit, and the fact is his recuperation is going well and nobody has decided yet if he is playing on the game or not.

This is always a big game, but it’s not a crucial one and the inclusion of a less than tip-top Messi could be counter-productive in the long run.



The Club World Cup, where there is a trophy to be had, is a far more realistic aspiration for everyone at Barcelona, including Messi, although at the moment nothing has been decided.



At Real Madrid it’s a different matter altogether.



At first viewing, Ronaldo’s tally of 13 goals in 15 games this season would make accusations of a lack of form from the Portuguese star seem absurd. Except of course that closer analysis reveals that the goals have come in just six of those games, drawing a blank in the other nine.



Ronaldo’s customary goal scoring prowess would undoubtedly have guaranteed them top slot in the la Liga table going into the Clasico, but it’s not happening; and why not?



Firstly he seems uncomfortable in his new role as main striker with his back to goal waiting for the ball, much preferring to create panic when he arrives in the zone from wide areas.



Secondly, many of his performances have a look of apathy about them. In their most recent match against Sevilla there was a strange moment when he shot when a pass to a well-positioned Modric would have been the better option.



The action drew complaints from a couple of his team mates and the feeling is that some of them are of the opinion that they want a little more effectiveness from their illustrious companion.



Something is missing; something isn’t right. Coming off the pitch at the end of the game he is quoted in Cuatro as saying to Sergio Ramos that, “we aren’t going to win anything playing this way.”



He feels that the side is not being adventurous enough, but actually can’t, or won’t, appreciate that this is the battle that Benitez is facing and one of the things that will ultimately define the season, as well as the interplay and relationship between himself and team mate, Gareth Bale.



The key is how prepared some of the brooding superstars will be to take on board what Benitez is trying to put in place because in the last 15 minutes of the game with Sevilla 3-1 ahead, what he needed from his side was courage, spirit and determination and what he go was apathy verging on indifference.



What he is trying to create and what he is working at with some of the less ‘stellar’ personalities at the club like Cheryshev, Lucas Vazquez and Casemiro is more of a work ethic because once it was established that with the likes of Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, Bale and Karim Benzema in the same line up, effectively this was always going to be a team divided into two.



At Sevilla, a front three of Isco, Bale and Ronaldo showed their manager that they did not consider putting in a defensive shift to be part of their job description. A team that defends with 11 will always stand a better chance of winning. A Real Madrid defending with eight men against a Sevilla side with its tail up had no chance.



The top players don’t seem to understand that and prefer to wait for a moment of brilliance to drag them out of the mire, except that when the hope of inspiration is not accompanied by structure, collective hard work and the honest toil of perspiration what often follows is what we saw at the Sanchez Pizjuan.



I’m convinced that at the Santiago Bernabeu, against the Catalan nemesis that is Barcelona, everyone will raise their game, but that’s only one game and Benitez will require more of a commitment over a longer period of time if Real Madrid are to challenge for the top honours this season.