Luis Enrique believes Barcelona passed an acid test of their mettle by coming back from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 in La Liga on Sunday.
Vitolo gave Sevilla a deserved lead in the first half, until Barca returned for the second all guns blazing to ultimately steal the three points as Lionel Messi scored the Catalans’ equaliser, before teeing up Luis Suarez for the winner.
“It was a great match, which was suspected, given both teams’ attacking profile and pressing,” the Coach said after the game.
“It was a thrilling game with chances. The team responded very well. We were able to overtake our opponents. It’s always a problem, but we solved it in a wonderful way.
“Before we conceded, there was a mix-up between Luis and Neymar, which is unusual. We knew it would be difficult against a team that could cause us problems, but we also had many chances to kill the game off. We’ll go on with the idea of picking up points.
“Leo has the ability to play in any position and read the game. What we look for is the best Messi possible. Everyone played spectacularly, but Leo in particular was at a very high level.
“We wanted a leisurely game, although it ended up being difficult. The pitch didn’t help either team and the pressing applied by our opponents made it more difficult for us to overcome situations.
“It was an excellent test to see what stuff the Barca players were made of. We won on a day when the leaders also won, so we needed the win to follow in their wake.
“The win strengthens us and now we’ll wait for the entire team to return [after the break].
Enrique was also asked about the bizarre incident that saw Messi booked for taking too long to put his boot back on, despite his laces coming apart, and the No 10 throwing it on the ground once he became aware of the referee’s decision.
“I don’t know who makes the rules, but the laces on his boot had broken and the rules say that you should leave the pitch,” he explained.
“The players are fired up and don’t want to leave the team with one less man, so the rules are wrong.
“The referees apply the rules, whether or not you disagree with them. The players must accept them, but it doesn’t work at a Press conference when we’re calm.”
