Luis Enrique talked with Messi before benching him

Luis Enrique said that he spoke with Lionel Messi before deciding to start him on the bench against Atletico Madrid on Saturday. 

Messi came on in the second half to score the winning goal following a week which began with him playing for Argentina and ended with the birth of his second son. 

"I talked with Leo [before the game]," Luis Enrique confirmed. "He's important for us, so we didn't want to take any risks. He has been travelling a lot."

On Barcelona's performance, Enrique added: "It was a complete performance, we created a lot of chances.

"It's never easy against Atletico -- and I am very happy that we were able to come from behind to win." 

Barça were denied three penalties for handballs by referee Mateu Lahoz, but Luis Enrique would not be drawn on those decisions, preferring to focus on Barça's 100 percent start to the season. "

"From where we are [on the bench], we can't see anything," he said when asked about the handballs. 

"Our schedule [to start the season] is difficult, so today was an important win, but [the season] has only just started."