Barcelona coach Luis Enrique hailed a "breathtaking and electric" display from Neymar after he scored four goals in a 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. With Lionel Messi out injured, the Brazilian won and converted two penalties in the first half to turn the scoreline on its head after Javi Guerra had given Rayo a surprise lead.
He scored twice more in the second half and provided a classy assist for Luis Suarez's late volley to move to eight goals for the season. "Neymar is electric and at the moment defenders only have two choices when facing him: commit a penalty or let him score," Luis Enrique told a press conference.
"In one word, he was breathtaking."
It was Neymar's first four-goal haul for Barca and he claimed the performance was one of his best since joining in 2013.
"I'm very happy with the victory and with how we played, because Rayo are a great team and we struggled against them," Neymar told Canal Plus. I can't explain how I do what I do because it would be giving clues away, but it is all down to lots of practice."
Rayo had more possession than Barcelona and Luis Enrique admitted his side were not always in control of the game, despite the final scoreline. "We were lacking in confidence in certain moments because we couldn't control the ball. We had clear chances and Rayo made for an end-to-end match. We consider possession to be a means of getting a result, and not an end in itself."
The coach, a former international team-mate of Paco Jemez with Spain, also heaped praise on the Rayo boss.
"I have a lot of respect for Paco because we were team-mates. He was a great defender and he is making his side better and better. I'm a big fan of his and I would like to see him at a big club."
No comments:
Post a Comment