Barcelona coach praises Messi as a 'saint' after victory over Real

(Baonghean.vn) - Barcelona's coach has almost no more "expensive" words to say about his favorite student after the Argentine striker scored a double against Real Madrid.

The classic Real Madrid - Barcelona match at the Bernabeu ended with the most dramatic and exciting developments. In the 28th minute, Casemiro opened the scoring for Real Madrid. However, just 5 minutes later, Messi equalized with an extremely classy solo goal.

Coach Luis Enrique's students once again took the lead in the 73rd minute with a decisive long-range shot from Rakitic. It seemed that Real's hopes were extinguished when Ramos received a direct red card after a somewhat malicious tackle on Messi, but substitute James Rodriguez finished close to the goal to equalize 2-2. The drama of the match came in the last minute when from a quick counter-attack, L. Messi cushioned the ball with his strong foot, closing out a thrilling 3-2 victory for Barcelona.

Messi was excellent in the top match with Real Madrid. Photo: Internet

In the post-match press conference, coach Luis Enrique seemed to want to elevate Messi to the status of a “Saint”, on par with the late legend Johan Cruyff. The Barcelona coach shared his feelings about the final El Clasico before leaving Barcelona at the end of the season with excitement:

“I will remember this match, everything about it. You see, this is real football, the best of it. We had a lot of difficulties. It was not easy to win at Real Madrid, but Barcelona showed real strength and class. I will have a sleepless night!”

As for Messi, Enrique joked: “He is always special, always making a difference even when having dinner at home. He is the best player of all time that I have ever seen.

When asked whether Barcelona benefited from the referees today, the Spanish coach was quite calm and asked permission not to comment on whether the referees today were good or bad. He made a general statement: "I think the referees work as a unit, and they need to be respected..."

The coach also praised Real Madrid player Marcelo: “He is a special player, he has the ability to create dangerous chances with a few touches of the ball and that is one of the qualities he possesses. I don't need to say anything more about him...

Coach Luis Enrique and Zidane were both impressed with the performance of the Argentine striker. Photo: Internet

Meanwhile, instead of directly criticizing the main referee A. Hernandez, coach Zinedine Zidane was quite calm when answering: “Real could have been awarded a penalty in the first minute. But we do not regret that situation by giving Sergio Ramos a red card. It was a turning point decision. If Ramos had hurt Messi, it would have been the right decision. In this situation, I think other referees would not have made such a decision.”

“Since Real lost a player, Barcelona have been more proactive. They dominated and created many chances. But my players made me proud of them. The players played with great quality. James Rodriguez's equalizer made me so happy that I just wanted to put on my shoes and go play. As for Messi, he really had an excellent match,” Zidane admitted.

After this match, the gap between the two teams was leveled on the rankings, but Barca moved ahead thanks to a much better goal difference. Meanwhile, Real Madrid will have to rely on the make-up match against Celta Vigo to reclaim the top spot.

Trung Kien (translator)

(Source: Marca)