Messi played the full 90 minutes for the first time after returning from an injury and Suarez hoped that the return of the Argentine star will give a boost to their quest to defend the Champions League title.
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Neymar was presented with the chance to get in on the act from the spot – Suarez and Messi unselfishly ushering him forward – but his weak shot was saved. They have lost just once without him, going down 2-1 away to Sevilla at the start of October.
Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic has said Barca’s positive team spirit is behind their winning run. “We always have the same goals, but we should do things differently”. “The idea is to be ready for when the trophies are won at the end of the season”.
Just two points separate Chelsea, Porto and Dynamo Kiev but Jose Mourinho’s side need only draw at home to the Portuguese club next month to go through.
Sociedad, meanwhile, make the daunting trip to Barcelona fresh off a morale-boosting 2-0 victory over Sevilla.
“The technical aspect comes first”, he continued.
If Barcelona’s victory over Real Madrid on Saturday in La Liga (Spain’s first division) wasn’t impressive enough, the the win over Roma represented further evidence of the power coach Luis Enrique’s team possesses. The style of Barcelona is my favorite to watch, but it’s not easily replicated.
“It’s a different way of working under the new coach”.
The Barca talisman also touched on his return to the team and was satisfied with his display in the game against Roma. “No doubt this will change and we have to be ready to overcome those moments”. With Barcelona already qualified, Roma can progress with a win against Borisov.
In the modern era, the trio of Luis Figo, Luis Enrique and Ronaldo smashed in 73 goals during the 1996/97 season – and were it not for Figo’s paltry eight goals in 50 games, they may well have still held the club record.
Roma had no answer for the attacking power of their opponents and they soon found themselves five goals behind as Messi slotted in at the second attempt, after his initial effort was kept out by Szczesny.
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