Neymar Outshines Mario Balotelli in Battle of Superstars at Confederations Cup

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 22, 2013

commentComment        

Two of the biggest stars in the 2013 Confederations Cup took center stage on Saturday, and Brazil's Neymar got the better of Italy's Mario Balotelli in the Brazilians' 4-2 victory, despite a strong performance from both.

The sides made for the most anticipated Confederations Cup match of the group stage. Although both squads have already secured their spots in the semifinals, positioning and momentum for the rest of the tournament was on the line.

Both Neymar and Balotelli had their moments and showed displays of exuberant skill and athleticism, but it wasn't just Brazil's victory that gave Neymar the upper edge against his counterpart. 

The new face of Brazil football notched his third goal in as many matches, putting himself in elite company as ESPN's SportsCenter points out:



Balotelli had the opportunity to join Neymar in that achievement if he would've notched a goal on Saturday, but he was unable to—despite taking five shots and drawing five fouls throughout the affair.

However, the Italian striker found other ways to make his mark on the match, including a spectacular back-heeled assist in midair that led to a game-tying goal by Emanuele Giaccherini early in the second half.

Balotelli's jaw-dropping assist can be seen below (courtesy of 101 Great Goals).



At that point in the match, Neymar had been kept pretty quiet other than his yellow card in the 28th minute. But he saw what skill the Italians boasted, and wasted no time one-upping them.

Neymar was given a free-kick opportunity in the 55th minute from an impossible angle just outside the box, and drilled it home with a perfect strike that goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon had no chance of reaching (courtesy of 101 Great Goals).



After a third-minute goal against Japan and a 10th-minute goal vs. Mexico, Neymar had some living up to do against undoubtedly the stiffest compe...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!