Neymar told Canal Plus that playing with Lionel Messi was helping him become a better player after the pair combined for both Barcelona goals in Saturday's 2-0 La Liga win over Athletic Bilbao.
- Luis Enrique hails Messi as matchwinner vs. Bilbao
The game at the Camp Nou was goalless when the Brazil captain entered the game on 63 minutes, with visitors Athletic showing impressive control of proceedings at times.
The South-American duo quickly clicked into gear however, with Argentina captain Messi playing Neymar through behind the defence for the first goal, and then pulling the ball back to provide a second opportunity that his waiting teammate netted.
Two goals in five minutes late on from @neymarjr gave Barça a deserved win in an exciting game against Bilbao pic.twitter.com/HXeXaM4Qrz
- FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 13, 2014
"Messi is the best in the world, a 'crack,'" Neymar said. "I am getting better with him. We are recovering as a team and improving. I came back from the travelling a little tired, it was a long journey.
"In the first goal, the ball got away from me a bit with my first touch, but then I was able to finish. I hope this can be my year. Today it was perfect to come into the game and help the team to win."
The Brazil international admitted that Athletic -- who had a couple of penalty claims turned down -- had troubled Barca at times.
"I am very happy with today's game," Neymar said. "We knew we were going to suffer a bit, but we managed to keep our defensive side good, to later go on and win the game."