zezestudio

Monday 12 January 2015

Messi and Luis Enrique are not quarreling, says Neymar

There's no infighting between players such as Lionel Messi and head coach Luis Enrique, according to forward Neymar, who scored the opener in Barcelona's 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

The Brazilian put the hosts ahead at Camp Nou 12 minutes into the tie, which was a rematch of the winner-takes-all clash that ended La Liga last season in favour of the Rojiblancos.

However, this time it was Diego Simeone's men who suffered in Catalunya as Luis Suarez doubled the lead and Lionel Messi finished off the reigning champions, with Mario Mandzukic's goal from the penalty spot into between the latter two Barca strikes ultimately proving to be just a consolation.

Despite reports that club president Josep Maria Bartomeu is considering sacking head coach Luis Enrique as reports of a rift with Messi continue to plaster the back pages in Spain, Neymar claimed the team are actually united behind the scenes.

"I’m really happy," he told Canal Plus. "The team played well and put in quite the effort.

"We put the recent bad moments behind us and we are focused on the game when on the pitch. We don’t have problems with anyone."

When asked specifically who rules the roost within Barca, Messi or Luis Enrique, Neymar pulled off some excellent dodging by answering: "Bartomeu."

Barca are back in Copa del Rey action on Thursday when they travel to Elche to defend their 5-0 first-leg lead, with a quarter-final against either Atletico or Real Madrid in sight.

They are currently one point adrift of La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who have a game in hand on their trailing rivals.

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