Lionel Messi scored a brace to overtake Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for European Golden shoe and helped FC Barcelona to secure a 2-0 win at Eibar that moved the Catalans four points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of the table. Luis Enrique was seemingly pleased with this victory and said that his side is now ready to host Real Madrid next weekend.
Leo Messi was in a devastating form against Eibar as he opened the scoring with a penalty in the first half and headed home a brilliant header after the break to ensure an easy win for FC Barcelona. Luis Enrique played with an experimental midfield of Ivan Rakitic, Sergi Roberto and Rafinha in this game but this new combination struggled to make an impact but yet another brilliant display from the trio of Messi, Suarez and Neymar helped Blaugrana secure a comfortable win in the end.
FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was happy with the efforts of his players and said that they are now ready for the challenging week ahead.
“We arrive as leaders and in perfect shape [for the Clasico],” Luis Enrique told a press conference after Saturday’s match. “I don’t think this is going to be the most important week, but it will be fairly important.
“The match against City is against an opponent who can make things difficult and that’s the match to think about right now.
“From the outside, everything looks easy, but get onto the pitch and you’ll see how fast the ball moves. At times we accelerated and attacked from the centre. We played a good game.”
Midfielder Sergi Roberto was handed a rare start against Eibar by Luis Enrique and the FC Barcelona coach was happy with the youngstersa display.
“He has played a great match, most of all because he hasn’t had many minutes,” Luis Enrique added. “He gives us a lot and he is good in the air, he defends. I know him from the youth team, it’s a shame I can’t give him more minutes but he’s an important player for the team.”