FC Barcelona manager Luis Enrique hailed the exceptional performance of Brazilian superstar Neymar in his side’s 3-0 win over Villarreal at the Camp Nou on Sunday.
Neymar lit up the Camp Nou by scoring an outrageous goal in the 85th minute as he flicked the ball over the rushing defender and slammed home a stunning volley into the bottom corner. It will most certainly go down as one of the greatest goals ever scored at the iconic stadium.
Earlier, Neymar gave the Catalans the lead on the hour mark after rifling in a left footed drive from inside the penalty box after a pin point through ball by Sergio Busquets.
Neymar’s strike partner Luis Suarez doubled Barcelona’s lead in the 70th minute after emphatically dispatching the penalty earned by La Masia product Munir El Haddadi.
Enrique hails “unique” Neymar
Speaking to the media after the match, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique heaped infinite praise on the Brazilian International by labeling him as “unique”.
“We are talking about a one-of-a-kind player, a special player. We have to look at how he does his job,” said Enrique via the club’s official website.
“After warm-ups wea d be watching what Ronaldinho did. But with Neymar Ia d point out, like with all my players, the effort on defence. This helps conquer titles,” he added.
Asked to comment on the match as a whole, Enrique said, “That the team is growing and improving in key area of the game is obvious.”
“The most important thing is to continue improving, but until February and March it doesna t mean anything.”
Asked about Messi’s availability for the El Clasico Enrique inevitably replied, “He [Messi] is still in the recovery process. It is going well. There are two weeks left. We will get Messi back, but either before or after that game. The only thing we are concerned about, since Leo was injured, was for him to recover well. We are infinitely stronger with Messi.”
Exceptional Neymar in the best form of his life ahead of the Clasico
Neymar’s spectacular second goal against Villarreal on Sunday was a timely reminder of what the Brazilian international is capable of. The skill and trickery of Neymar is reminiscent of another legendary Brazilian international who used to ply his trade with Barcelona — Ronaldinho Gaucho.
Neymar has stepped up his game significantly since Barcelona star Lionel Messi got injured in mid-September against Las Palmas. As part of the formidable partnership that he has formed with Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez up front in the absence of Messi, Neymar has scored 10 goals and assisted a further 6 in ten matches he has played in La Liga and the Champions League.
A red hot Neymar will look to cause significant damage to Rafa Benitez’s Real Madrid side a fortnight from now in the Clasico.
Luis Enrique on Neymar: “We are talking about a unique player, special. We have to look at his work” . #FCBlive pic.twitter.com/BFpBBmSIUb
a FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 8, 2015