Brazil's dominance over Argentina riled the Albiceleste players to such an extent that Neymar was forced to ask Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano to calm down during the heated encounter. Trailing 3-0 thanks to goals from Philippe Coutinho, Neymar and Paulinho, El Jefecito lashed out at his Blaugrana compatriot after the ball had gone, irritating the Sao Paolo-born star. Neymar proceeded to calm Mascherano down with tackles flying in from the likes of Ramiro Funes Mori elsewhere. Outstanding throughout, the 24-year-old was on the receiving end of number of rash challenges as Argentina sought a different style of retribution for the hammering. Thankfully for Barcelona, the duo's spat did not continue for the rest of the match, with the only bone of contention likely to be how Neymar handles his bragging rights in training.Lionel Messi's shadow at club level, Neymar turned the tables on his Barcelona teammate with a Man of the Match performance in Brazil's drubbing of Argentina. Coming into the game without a win in four against La Pulga - during which time the Rosario-born striker had netted six goals - the Brazilian remedied his poor head-to-head record with a stunning display at the Estadio Mineirao.
After supplying Philippe Coutinho for the first-goal, Neymar then beat Sergio Romero to double his side's advantage. Brazil eventually ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over their rivals, with the 24-year-old's impressive tally of five assists and four goals in the last four matches helping Tite's team to dominate their qualifying group for Russia 2018. Thanks to his strike in Belo Horizonte, Neymar also celebrated his 50th goal for the Canarinho. Fourth on his country's all-time scoring list, the Barcelona star is now only five short of Romario in third-place. So while the game at the Mineirao may have been akin to Messi's worst nightmare, for his Barcelona teammate it was close to perfection.
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