Luis Enrique says rivals "suffer" at Camp Nou ahead of Atletico second leg

Luis Enrique says rivals "suffer" at Camp Nou ahead of Atletico second leg

The Barça boss was happy with the win at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday but not delighted

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique was satisifed with his side's 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final, although he admitted the second half wasn't brilliant. 

"In second half we knew Atletico would have to attack and press higher up," he said in reference to his side's two-goal lead at the break thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.  

"We had more difficulty bringing the ball out and they made it tough for us. They got back into the tie. We had chances to kill the tie with a third goal -- or could have conceded an equaliser. We're happy with the result -- it could have been better, it could have been worse."

Luis Enrique also said that it would be "ridiculous" to come to the Vicente Calderon and not suffer, but warned that rivals "also suffer at Camp Nou" ahead of the return leg back in Catalonia next week. 

The Barça coach once again had praise for Messi, too, adding: “In big games, special games, is when Messi is at his best. He showed his repertory today and helped us to get superiority in the middle -- but he was also dangerous up front. There are few terms of praise left for what Messi does.”

He also admitted that the goal from Antoine Griezmann keeps the tie alive before speaking about Neymar, who will miss the second leg next week after collecting his third booking in the Copa del Rey this season. 

"If there is any team in the world who can cover absences it is Barca," he said. "Neymar's a key player for us, but we have players who can cover in his position.”

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