“But we give our answer with what we do on the pitch”.
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Arsenal’s run of five successive Premier League wins ended with a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in an intense north London derby on Sunday which Spurs looked like winning until a late Arsenal equaliser from substitute Kieran Gibbs.
The 23-year-old scored two goals in the match, but his second tally to make it 3-0 was the crown jewel.
Barcelona will take its three-point lead to Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the season’s first “clasico” match after the worldwide break.
“In the first-half we should have killed the game off and we didn’t”, said Benitez.
Madrid could not have asked for a better start when Ramos scored an acrobatic kick from a corner kick in the 22nd. But the goal cost him and his team dearly as he re-injured his left shoulder on falling after the strike. He tried to continue but was replaced by Raphael Varane in the 31st.
Then came the moment of brilliance by the Brazil captain.
Barcelona are closely monitoring Denis Suarez’s progress at Villarreal with an eye on a potential return to Camp Nou for the midfielder.
But they continued to plug away, and after Areola had done well to keep out a Dani Alves effort and Suarez headed off-target from a free-kick, they took the lead.
Villarreal coach, Marcelino has heaped praise on Barcelona’s Neymar, calling him the most decisive player in the Liga.
The two combined again, with Suarez finding Neymar who lifted the ball round Costa and knocked it home after 85 minutes.
But Neymar, 23, said he never watched other teams play.
“We are talking about unique, special players and, I repeat, I can highlight his goals, his attacking play but also the running he does defensively and the solidarity he has with the rest of the team”.
Luis Enrique: “Rakitic’s injury disrupts our plans because of his quality and because it’s going to be a tough game against Villarreal”.
Wipe the sweat from your brow, Luis Enrique.
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Earlier, Athletic Bilbao moved into the top half of the table with their fifth consecutive win in all competitions thanks to Inaki Williams’s wonder goal in a 3-1 victory over Espanyol.
