Barca star trio down Atletico to ease crisis talk

Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez were all on target as Barcelona eased talk of a club crisis with a 3-1 win over La Liga champions Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Messi shrugged off speculation surrounding his future at the Camp Nou to cross for Neymar to scramble home the opener and then tee up Suarez to register just his second La Liga goal.
The Argentine also handed Atletico a route back into the game, though, when he was adjudged to have brought down Jesus Gamez inside the area on the hour mark and Mario Mandzukic slammed home from the penalty spot. However, Messi made amends by sealing the three points when he slotted home from close range three minutes from time to move Barca back to within a point of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Atletico are now four points adrift of Real, who also have a game in hand over both their title rivals. Barcelona had failed to beat Atletico in six meetings last season and wouldn't have been looking forward to facing Simeone's men after an unsettling week at the Camp Nou.
A 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad last weekend was followed by sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta's sacking and the club's under fire president Josep Maria Bartomeu calling club elections for the end of the season. Meanwhile, reports suggested defeat could have cost Barca boss Luis Enrique his job with relations between him and Messi at breaking point after the Argentine missed training on Monday.
And Enrique acknowledged that he will only silence his critics by continuing to put a winning team out on the field. "Victories are the only thing that can calm the situation," he said. "I need to transmit the best idea of how to play football to my players and be as competitive as possible. If we are capable of winning titles or not will be the judge of my era."
Atletico boss Diego Simeone, meanwhile, lamented his side's slow start. "I think there were two games. In the first-half Barca were better, dynamic and intense. We played badly in the first-half," said the Argentine. "In the second-half we were competitive. It was much closer to what we normally are in the second. We scored and could have got an equaliser, but in the end the third goal finishes the game."