Luis Enrique was delighted with the intensity show by his players as Barcelona edged closer to the Primera Division title with a comfortable 4-0 win over Almeria.
Lionel Messi got the ball rolling with a fine individual goal in the 33rd minute before a brace from Luis Suarez and a further goal from Marc Bartra wrapped up the scoring at the Nou Camp.
The convincing victory was completed without the services of Brazilian superstar Neymar and Enrique was quick to clear up his absence, claiming he just needed a rest.
Neymar spent the entire match on the bench, but Enrique says he was happy with the performance of his side.
“Neymar is the only one who didn’t get a rest with his national team. So I called Pedro Rodriguez, who was in the best possible condition,” the Barca coach said.
“We won the match with the intensity we showed. It wasn’t an easy game and our intensity was good, even if we’re not fresh. We’re strengthened to go to Sevilla [on Saturday].”
Meanwhile, Real Madrid stayed in touch with Barca, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 300th goal in a hard-earned 2-0 win at Rayo Vallecano.
Ronaldo headed home Daniel Carvajal’s 68th-minute cross for the opener and James Rodriguez stroked home his side’s second five minutes later to secure the win.
Barca are hot 1.54 favourites to win at Seville on Saturday, with the home side priced at 4.76, while the draw is 4.16.
Real Madrid entertain Eibar and are priced at 1.03 to win, with the visitors a huge 34.33.
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