Luis Enrique challenges Barcelona to pile pressure on Madrid

Luis Enrique urged Barcelona to keep the pressure on LaLiga leaders Real Madrid following their comfortable win over Osasuna.

A strike from Luis Suarez and a double from Lionel Messi gave the champions a 3-0 victory at El Sadar over Joaquin Caparros’s bottom club, who have only won once in the top flight all season.

The victory allowed Barca to close to within three points of Madrid at the top of the table, though Zinedine Zidane’s side can restore their six-point advantage if they beat Deportivo La Coruna at the Santiago Bernabeu later on Saturday.

And Luis Enrique was delighted to end a run of four straight draws in domestic competition and turn up the heat on their title rivals.

“Every pitch is difficult. We knew it would be key to get the first goal. We were by far the better team and it was a fair result,” he said.

“The last few metres are always difficult. They bring a lot of players back there. The pitch was heavy and that made the ball circulation difficult.

“But we go home happy. They had a chance that could have made things difficult but I’m happy with what I saw out on the pitch.

“It’s about improving our form to try to put pressure on the leaders, on Real Madrid.”

Luis Enrique singled out midfielder Sergio Busquets for his all-round display, as Barca finished the game with a remarkable 80 per cent possession and only one shot on target on Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s goal.

“Along with the centre-backs, Busquets is the one who starts the play,” he said. “He only needs half a second to find a pass. He is the one who directs the play and it’s thanks to players like him that we’re able to settle games like this.

“In order to combat a team that sits back, you need a good structure in order to move the ball and press. That doesn’t mean the opposition can’t cause some danger with a long ball, as we saw, but I think we overcame all the difficulties.”