Barcelona coach Luis Enrique hailed his side's mental strength after they came behind to beat Villarreal 3-2 in a Sunday evening thriller at the Camp Nou.
The in-form visitors twice took the lead through on-loan Real Madrid midfielder Denis Cheryshev and exciting young forward Luciano Vietto, but goals from Neymar, Rafinha and Lionel Messi secured the three points to return Barca to second spot in the Primera Division table.
For the second consecutive match [after last Wednesday's Copa del Rey victory at Atletico Madrid] Barca quickly responded to going behind by turning the game around, in what was probably the most entertaining 90 minutes of La Liga action at the Camp Nou this season, but played out in front of just 60,004 spectators. the lowest attendance of the season.
Afterwards the Barca coach told his post-match news conference that such comebacks against difficult opponents were an "important" sign for this season's squad.
"It is important and shows that we are ready to overcome any situation," Luis Enrique said. "It happened at the [Estadio Vicente] Calderon the other day, and again today against an opponent like Villarreal. When you put together comebacks like this, playing good football, it makes you more confident."
Luis Enrique admitted that Villarreal had rocked his side by going ahead when Cheryshev deflected a Mario shot into the net, and he had changed tactics later in the game to ensure his team would not get caught on the break again.
"It was a very positive game apart from the goals conceded," he said. "We were rudderless for ten minutes after the 0-1. They had been 18 games unbeaten. When we were 3-2 up, we wanted to make sure of the result. Not to take risks."
The two teams meet again soon over two legs in the Copa semifinals, and the Barca boss said no blaugrana fans or pundits would be complacent about the tie any more.
"It was a great game and a good lesson to those who think we are already in the Copa final," Luis Enrique said. "It is very good for us. We know it will be difficult to reach the final, they have a lot of quality, attack the spaces well. They have a very good coach. This was a clear warning."
Messi and Neymar were both on the scoresheet once more, which Luis Enrique said was pleasing.
"For us it is a pleasure to have such players," he said. "They are both in special form at the moment."
There were more words of support for misfiring frontman Luis Suarez, who was involved in Barca's second and third goals, but again missed out on netting himself.
"[Suarez] is a basic, fundamental player for us," Luis Enrique said. "He is getting chances. He is not having good fortune, but he is very close to scoring goals. He will score in important moments this season. I believe it will be like that."
Andres Iniesta, who has yet to score or give an assist in La Liga this season, was doing well in a deeper creative role, his coach said.
"[Iniesta] cannot be the replacement for Xavi [Hernandez], because the two have played together," he said. "With us he plays in the position I feel is best for him, which is inside. He creates a lot of football for us. He is having a good season."