Hyundai driver Ogier dug deep on the final stage of the day to beat Ogier by 4.1s and reclaim the lead from his Toyota rival to take a 3.3 second advantage into Sunday's stages.
A drive that the Belgian called "pure perfection from the beginning to the end" was also enough to earn him a provisional maximum 18 points under the WRC's new-for-2024 points structure.
Drivers that reach the finish will be awarded points based on three different metrics this year; their positions at the end of Saturday's stages, the fastest drivers across Sunday's stages, and the quickest drivers through the Power Stage as before.
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"I was enjoying it because I felt comfortable in the car," Neuville told Autosport.
"It's never nice to see [Ogier] go faster than us, but on the last stage I just had the feeling like I can do a good time there.
"I was faster than him also in the morning loop so we decided to go for it and we had the perfect stage, it was brilliant."
Asked if he had been thinking about the points, or simply about beating Ogier, Neuville replied: "A bit of both!"
Explaining his approach to Sunday, Neuville said he will play a strategic game.
"We have only 3.3s advantage so we need to drive fast," the 2020 Monte Carlo winner reflected.
Source: Autosport