Lionel Messi Can Be The World's Best Defender - Luis Enrique

Luis Enrique lavished praise on Leo Messi after his brace against Elche. "He's the best player in the world. He could even be the best defender if he wanted. We see him do incredible things day in, day out. He'll be the best for as long as he wants to be; he scores goals, sets them up and presses the opposition. He's been working magic for many years now".

Munir: "He's progressing at a dizzying rate. He gives us lots of options; he's a natural goalscorer and is a fierce competitor".


Mascherano's red card: "The sending-off made it difficult, but the team took it in their stride and we won thanks to Leo's imperious form".

The performance overall: "I'm over the moon. The match had a little bit of everything. Elche were very disciplined to begin with, but we gradually managed to carve out chances".

Xavi's omission: "The problem facing me is one all coaches have to deal with: you can only select 11 players.
Xavi and the rest of the players that didn't feature are going to have an important role. A maximum of 14 players can take part in every game. I'm delighted with Xavi, he just wasn't in the best condition to play this time round".