Luis Enrique deserves credit for Barcelona's 'incredible' 2015, says Terry Gibson
Tuesday 1 December 2015 12:25, UK
Barcelona's form during 2015 has been nothing short of incredible and Luis Enrique deserves the plaudits, says Terry Gibson.
Following last season's treble-winning exploits, Enrique's side have gone from strength to strength on all fronts.
They are currently four points clear at the top of La Liga and safely through to the knockout stages of the Champions League as group winners.
But rewind 12 months and the Catalan side were in turmoil, newly-appointed boss Enrique under intense pressure while rivals Real Madrid were in the midst of a 22-game winning streak.
Speaking on the La Liga Weekly Podcast, Sky Sports' La Liga expert Gibson praised Enrique for the transformation he has orchestrated over the past year at the Nou Camp.
"Barcelona's record in 2015 is just incredible," he said. "They went on that great run after the Real Sociedad match last season and they then continued it again this season with just two defeats in the league so far.
"It is interesting as this is the form they showed last season, maybe better. That was at the important stage of the season, in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Champions League and big games in La Liga were taking place.
"So is there room for improvement? I hope so as everybody must be enjoying watching them play.
"It might be a different issue when the games get tougher in the second half of the season, but you can see the enjoyment they have when they set up a goal for each other. And it is good to watch at the moment.
"This time last season, of course, it was Real Madrid who were in the middle of their 22-game winning streak, while Barcelona were dropping points to Sociedad away from home.
"The players appeared in the media not to be getting along with their new coach and there were calls for Enrique to be sacked. Then all of a sudden it clicked into place, and credit has to go to Enrique."
Chief to Barcelona's dominance in Spain and Europe has been the burgeoning relationship between Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
Having lead the club to the Primera Division last season, the formidable front trio have accounted for all-but three of Barca's 33 La Liga goals this season.
"The three strikers have somehow worked out a system which they are all comfortable with," Gibson added. "Their big players are now playing well - Neymar and Suarez are the obvious ones.
"We can all see the friendship that has developed between those three, they all know how profitable it will be for them all to get on playing this way. And you are seeing that reflected in the way they play their football and how they try to share the goals out.
"Their record in terms of the goals Messi, Neymar and Suarez have scored between them, the points they have collected in the league, the trophies won, it has been an incredible 2015 for Barcelona."
Gibson was also keen to highlight a number of relatively unsung Barca performers, adding: "Andres Iniesta is in sparkling form at the moment, Sergio Busquets is playing better now than at time in what has been a great career. They are keeping clean sheets again.
"The goalkeeping rotation situation seems to be paying off as well - Marc-Andre Ter Stegen played well in the Champions League in midweek and Claudio Bravo is keeping clean sheets in the league as well - so everything is going fantastically well for Barcelona at the moment."
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