'Neymar was flawless in every way' - Martino

Posted Sunday, September 15, 2013 by Goal.com

The coach lauded his Brazilian forward's decisive output in a tense encounter which saw Jordi Alba suffer a thigh injury

Gerardo Martino branded Neymar's performance as flawless after Barcelona survived a Sevilla fightback to win 3-2 on Saturday.

Dani Alves and Lionel Messi's strikes were cancelled out by Ivan Rakitic and Coke, leaving Alexis Sanchez to net a last-ditch winner in a game that saw the visitors also have a goal controversially ruled out.

But Martino opted to focus instead on how well summer signing Neymar linked up with Messi instead, after the Brazilian prodigy assisted another goal for his Argentine counterpart.

"Neymar played a flawless game from all points of view. He's working very hard for the team, even when defending," Martino stated after the match.

"We're very happy with what he adds to the team. His partnership with Messi is doing well. This was his second assist. Soon we will be fresher and stronger.

"Cesc [Fabregas] is going through a very good spell. He gave us plenty in 15 minutes. I also thank Alexis [Sanchez] - he always offers us alternatives and makes things easier for me."

Sevilla constantly exposed their hosts' frailties at the back despite the Catalans' strong attack play, though Martino remained unperturbed by the defence's set-piece struggles.

"We will not change our man-marking at set pieces," the 50-year-old said. "It's hard to complement our side with zonal marking.

"We need to cover the space behind [Sergio] Busquets. We had problems when we retreated. We need to work better at this."

The Spanish champions were hit with a big injury blow when Jordi Alba limped off the pitch in the first half due to a reported bicep tear in his right leg.

"Alba picked up a thigh muscle tear in his right leg this evening. The player will undergo additional tests on Sunday to determine the extent of the injury," the club's official website read.

Alba has been used extensively at left-back with the Blaugrana in 2013, although it is now all but certain the 24-year-old will miss Wednesday's European clash against Ajax.