Luis Enrique on Sergi Roberto, Arda Turan and Espanyol

Luis Enrique was delighted with the performances of his players in the win over Granada. Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick and Neymar grabbed the other as Barcelona racked up a 4-0 win. 

The Barça boss was able to rotate his squad, with Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan making their first La Liga starts for the club since signing last summer - and Luis Enrique is particularly happy to be able to count on so many players. 

“For me, all the players are important, as you can see today by the changes we made,” he said in his press conference after the game. 

“The idea is to share the minutes out, because there are players that have accumulated more [minutes] than last season, for example. And what I want is for everyone to be at their best level in the coming months.”

Sergi Roberto took Sergio Busquets place in midfield and Enrique was happy with what he saw: “He gave us a lot, little touches, he was capable of orientating play and getting between the lines. In the future it could be the ideal position for him and he will be vital player for us in the coming years.” 

Questioned about the ease of the win, he didn’t feel Granada had made it that way: “They tried to get their ideas out there, with dangerous players up front, but today any rival would have suffered a lot [against Barça].” 

Luis Enrique also dedicated praise to Arda Turan, who was making his second start for the club. However, he feels there is still more to come from the Turkish international once he's adapted. “He was good, he lacks a bit of rhythm, but he brings dynamism, freshness… we are happy with him.

“We will see [Arda’s best position] as he plays more game. We’ve still not seen him getting forward a lot, he’s a player that drives forward, sets up goals… he is a player that’s going to add a lot of different things. 

“He has to adapt to the way Barça player. He will need time, but I am happy.”

On the next derby against Espanyol, in the Copa on Wednesday, Enrique said that he “would like football to be the focus, but we will see what happens.”