Neymar has claimed that Lionel Messi "made the difference" in Barcelona's 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid in their La Liga clash on Saturday.

Neymar levelled the scores in the second half after Fernando Torres had sent Atletico into the lead, but the match was decided by Messi, who came off the bench to net a vital winner.

"I'm happy that I score, but the most important thing was to win the game. It's good that we've won three out of three. We scored early [in the second half] and that was very important," Neymar told reporters.

"Once Messi came on, he made the difference like always and we won the game. With Messi on the pitch, everything doesn't become easy but better."

Barcelona, who won the treble last season, have collected nine points from a possible nine in the new La Liga season.