Luis Enrique fumes at ‘shocking’ Filipe Luis challenge

“They are in a very good position, they have three points more than us and a game in hand”.

Atletico took the lead through midfielder Koke 10 minutes into the match, but eventually conceded two goals as Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez took the game away from them.

Claudio Bravo could not keep a clean sheet against Atletico Madrid, but he was happy to see Barcelona move three points clear in the table.

A second half Bruno Soriano penalty gave Villarreal a 1-0 victory over Granada that put them level on 44 points with third-placed Real Madrid, who face Espanyol on Sunday.

Koke had given Atletico the ideal start at the Camp Nou with his 10th-minute opener a just reward for the visitors’ strong start.

Atletico Madrid and Barcelona may have a common enemy, Real Madrid, as far as the La Liga is concerned but nevertheless their encounters have emerged as marquee fixtures of the last couple of seasons.

“We had a good 15 minutes, closing Atletico in their area and creating chances”, coach Luis Enrique said in reference to the second part of the first half.

A furious Luis Enrique clashed with Atletico staff following Filipe Luis’ knee-high tackle on Messi, which happened immediately in front of the dug-outs, and the Barca boss was still angry after the game.

“You all saw my reaction, it was shocking”, he told reporters. (He would be up and about after a few minutes.) Luis would be sent off immediately by the officials.

“You can win or lose but if we lose, I would prefer to do it this way”.

However, manager Diego Simeone maintained after the match that he didn’t blame the two defenders for their actions and lauded the team’s spirit throughout the game.

Things got even better for Barca when Felipe Luis was sent off with a straight red card just before the break for a high and risky challenge on Messi which saw him plant his studs in the striker’s knee. They were impressive and played very well in the first half except for the 10 minutes when Barca pressed us.