Vermaelen goal a reward for his hard work, says Mascherano

Barcelona's Javier Mascherano says Thomas Vermaelen deserved his winning goal on Saturday after working so hard to regain his fitness.

Vermaelen joined the club from Arsenal in August 2014 but made just a single Liga appearance for the club during an injury-plagued first season at Camp Nou.

But the Belgium international is now back to full fitness and Mascherano expressed his delight for his team-mate on a personal level after the Belgium international’s strike gave Barca a 1-0 victory over Malaga on Saturday.

"The goal is a huge for Thomas,” Mascherano said. 

“Especially with everything he had to fight against last year when he couldn’t really demonstrate how good he was. It is a big reward for the effort. I am very happy for him."

Vermaelen became the unlikely hero after rifling home from close range in the 74th minute to maintain his side’s 100 per cent record this season.

And the 29-year-old admitted his muted celebration was largely due to the fact that he’s not used to celebrating goals.

"I didn’t celebrate the goal because I don’t often find myself in these situations and I don’t even know how to celebrate them. I was very focused on the game too,” he said.

"Everyone knows what I went through. The pre-season was very important and the coach gave me the opportunity to show what I am capable of. I am very grateful."