Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has lavished praise on his team following yesterday’s win over Levante, but has warned that there is still a long way to go before the season ends and they cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal.
The Catalan giants dispatched their relegation struggling opponents Levante 5-0 in a breathtaking display of attacking football. Lionel Messi continued his imperious goalscoring form and scored the 23rd La Liga hat-trick of his career. Neymar and Luis Suarez scored the other two goals to seal all three points for Barcelona.
Enrique chose to rest some of his first team regulars including Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Andres Iniesta in favour of Marc Bartra, Adriano, and Xavi Hernandez and his decision to rotate his players didn’t impact their fluid display which saw them collect their sixth successive league win.
Talking at a post-match press conference, Enrique admitted that his decision to rotate the squad proved to be a success.
“The objective we set ourselves was to build a big squad with quality and we’re very satisfied with the results.
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“In the first half we lacked balance but later, in the second half, we were very good. Everyone wants to play their part in this and this victory really reinforces our confidence.”
However, the manager admitted his team’s eleventh win on the trot in all competitions should not be a reason for them to get carried away as there are 15 rounds of league matches still to go.
“The players have no reason to feel euphoric; we’re not the only team involved in competition. But I do love seeing the fans euphoric.”
He did admit that Barcelona’s form has made the team optimistic about their chances of collecting silverware come the season’s end.
“That is crucial as it makes us feel optimistic that we can go on and win trophies.”
Barcelona will look to continue their winning run when they play Malaga in their next league fixture on Saturday to stay hot on the heels of league leaders Real Madrid.
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