An honour to coach Barca – Luis Enrique

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique declared it an honour to coach his current squad after they responded to their European woes.

The Catalan club lost 3-2 at Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, their first loss under Luis Enrique across all competitions.

But they produced an immediate response on Saturday in La Liga, picking up a routine 2-0 win over hosts Rayo Vallecano as in-form Lionel Messi and Neymar found the target once more.

Rayo’s chances were not helped by Morcillo and Javier Aquino receiving red cards, but with Barca 2-0 up by then, Luis Enrique’s men were already cruising.

Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo also broke Pedro Artola’s record of not conceding a goal in the first 560 minutes of the season and his coach spoke of his pride for the entire team.

Luis Enrique said: “We faced a difficult team who press and keep a high line. I’ve always said it’s an honour coaching players of this level.

“Beyond what the record means for one player is the performance of the team. We started strong.

“We knew we couldn’t give the ball away against a difficult opponent. The players had the right intensity and I am very pleased beyond what the record means.

“We knew the courage of Rayo and it gets you into a certain disposition.

“We were able to make the final pass and the victory makes us stronger. It’s statistics at the end of the season I’m most interested in.”