Luis Enrique insists Barca are in perfect form ahead of Man City clash
Luis Enrique does not think Barcelona could be in better form ahead of key clashes with Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Luis Enrique believes his Barcelona side is in "perfect form" ahead of facing Manchester City and Real Madrid next week after securing a 2-0 win at Eibar on Saturday.
Lionel Messi scored a first-half penalty and took his incredible tally for the season to 43 goals with a second-half header as Barca stretched its lead at the top of La Liga to four points.
Second-placed Real will be expected to cut that gap to a point by beating Levante on Sunday, but momentum is with the Catalan giant in the battle for the title ahead of El Clasico at Camp Nou next Sunday.
Before then Barca hosts City in the second leg of a Champions League round-of-16 tie it leads 2-1 after the first leg.
Luis Enrique said: "This will be a very nice week with two games in front of our fans, but it is not the most important. We're going into the Clasico as leaders and in perfect form. But first we have to focus on City because qualification is at stake. Then we'll see what happens at the weekend."
Barca was not at its fluent best in its first trip to Estadio Municipal de Ipurua. Luis Enrique gave credit to an Eibar side which has lost eight games in a row and backed it to avoid relegation in its first season in the top flight.
He added: "You must try to be dominant and effective in every match. Our opponent didn't make it at all easy for us, and it's essential to be effective in cases like this.
"Eibar didn't look like a team that has just lost seven in a row. They played good football and they fully deserved their great start to the season. I don't think they'll have any trouble avoiding relegation. Perhaps we rushed things at times but the way the game went, I think we played well and took it as seriously as we should have."
