Luis Enrique accepts Barcelona miss Lionel Messi but believes results have curbed talk of a dependence on the Argentina forward.
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The 23-year-old attacker has already netted nine goals in 12 appearances in all competitions this term, six of which came after Messi sustained a serious knee injury against Las Palmas back in September. Even without Messi, Barcelona boasts one of the best teams in La Liga – and the world – with the likes of world-class strikers Neymar and Luis Suarez at the helm.
While at first this might seem like a welcome relief to Messi’s rival Cristiano Ronaldo and his Madrid squad, it doesn’t mean the match will be a guaranteed win for Los Blancos.
Neymar will be looking to add to his tally on Wednesday when Barcelona take on BATE in the Champions League. “There is no mention of Messidependencia [dependence on Messi] because the team is winning and playing well”.
“I was happy with the game and the danger that we caused”.
“Neymar is a great player and a friend who I have seen grow. Sergio had a ideal game, it is not possible to do any better than that, it was spectacular”, he said.
Lionel Messi will not recover from injury in time to face Real Madrid in el clásico, according to reports in Spain.
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Barca have been stretched by injuries this season and the Federation Internationale de Football Association transfer ban over the last two windows but they are still on course in La Liga, joint top with Real with 24 points from ten games.
