MSN outscore the BBC

BY 28 GOALS TO 22

Posted Thursday, November 19, 2015 by Marca.com

Having already outscored Real Madrid's three-man strike force (Benzema, Bale and Cristiano) last season, Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez look set to repeat the feat this year.

Even though Messi has missed a handful of games through injury, the Barcelona front line have notched up more goals than their Bernabéu counterparts. MSN have scored a total of 32 goals, whilst Los Blancos have only managed 22. However, it is true that the Catalans have played in a couple more competitions than Benitez and co. (The Spanish and European Super Cups).

That said, if we take those two competitions out of the equation, the stats still favour the Catalans, who have notched up 28 goals, six more than Los Blancos.

It is neither Cristiano nor Messi. The stand-out goalscorer in the early stages of this season has been Neymar. He is La Liga's top scorer on 11 goals. Second place in that ranking also goes to a Barça player, Luis Suárez, with nine goals to his name. That means that, for now, Cristiano Ronaldo has to make do with third place on the podium (eight goals).

Despite everything, Real Madrid have reason to be optimistic. Cristiano's goalscoring stats in the Champions League are amazing. The Portuguese has scored five goals in four games, at an average of more than a goal a game.

Real Madrid also lead the way in terms of assists. Bale has set up four goals in seven games, whilst Neymar, who leads the way at Barcelona, has set up six in 14 matches.