The first team manager knows that Sunday's game will not be as simple as some might think.
Barça entertain Levante on Sunday at 5.00pm CET and manager Luis Enrique told the press on Saturday after training how he never feels comfortable playing against teams that are immersed in relegation battles, not even when his own team has just won ten games in a row.
The following is a selection of the most interesting comments made by the manager in the Ciutat Esportiva pressroom:
On the forthcoming game with Levante:
“We are in fine form, but I never trust teams that are in a delicate situation”.
“It’s a banana skin, no doubt about it. We need intensity in every game. Football is an odd game because a team that doesn’t attack can end up winning”.
“We will need to be fully focused and go out in search of the win from the very first minute”.
“It will be hard, we’ll face difficulties. Levante defend very well and are a physically powerful side”.
“Whatever team I pick, I can assure you it’ll be a great one that can offer solid guarantees of victory”.
Barça’s attacking style:
“Positionally, we have the best team in the world. We are quite used to playing against tightly packed defences. That’s part of our legacy. I don’t think there is any team in the world that can match us in terms of resources for dealing with situations like that”.
The title race:
“I expect this league to go right down to the wire, just like it did last year”.
“I don’t care whether we play before or after Madrid. It won’t change our plan, which is simply to win our own game”.
“His stats for goals, assists and titles are from another galaxy”.
The new staff structure for football:
“I know all three of the new faces, although I have not had the chance to speak to the Commission yet. I welcome Braida on board”.
Call to the fans:
“I appreciate that because of TV, the kick-off times aren’t always great, and the weather has been very cold recently. But we are so much stronger with the fans behind us and it would be nice for more fans to come,. The more we are, the better we are”.
