Barcelona coach Luis Enrique reveled in turning the tables on bitter rivals Real Madrid as Lionel Messi struck deep in stoppage-time to edge a thrilling El Clasico 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Messi’s second goal of the night was his 500th for Barcelona and it took the Catalan side to the top of La Liga.
“He is the best player for me in history and I have seen a lot of football,” Enrique said. “In modern football when everyone is tactically and physically better he still makes the difference. The fact he has scored his 500th goal shows all of us as Barca fans are lucky to have him identified with the club.”
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The timing of Messi’s strike also saw Barca gain revenge for Sergio Ramos’ stoppage-time equalizer in a 1-1 draw when the sides last met at the Camp Nou in December last year.
“It is marvelous for us to win in the 92nd minute. It is something that is normally more a characteristic of our rivals, but we like to do it too,” Enrique said.
Barca lead at the top of the table thanks to their better head-to-head record, but Real Madrid still have the advantage as they have a game in hand.
“To score in the 92nd minute is a huge confidence boost,” said Enrique, who is to leave the club at the end of the season.
However, he and Barca captain Andres Iniesta called on Messi, whose contract expires at the end of next season, not to follow him in leaving the Camp Nou.
“Barca is an incredible club with many years of history, but without doubt an important part of that history is Leo Messi,” Enrique said.
“I think the great thing about Leo is that he continues to surprise,” Iniesta said. “After so many years he is still decisive. It is an honor and a blessing for the club to have him.”
By contrast, Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was left to lament his side’s adventurous nature in conceding in stoppage-time after being reduced to 10 men.
Messi had canceled out Casemiro’s opener before halftime, but Barca looked well on the road to victory when Ivan Rakitic’s stunning effort put the visitors 2-1 in front, before Madrid captain Ramos was sent off for a wild lunge on Messi.
However, Madrid rallied when a man down as substitute James Rodriguez fired home an equalizer four minutes from fulltime.
“Drawing the game with 10 men, to press high up the field is dangerous and we paid for that,” Zidane said. “I can’t criticize the players for anything though. We gave our all, but we didn’t manage to get the three points. We didn’t deserve to lose, but that is football.”
Madrid now need to take at least 16 points from their final six La Liga games to be guaranteed the title.
“There will be much more of a title race, but it is still in our own hands,” Zidane said.
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