Football
Samuel Marsden 8y

Barcelona's Luis Enrique: Manchester City clash brings 'morbo'

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique says he is looking forward to facing Manchester City in the Champions League group stage despite the "morbo" that accompanies the clash.

The two sides have met twice in the competition in the last three seasons, with Barca winning both meetings, but there will be more spice to the fixture when they encounter each other this time.

Former Barca boss Pep Guardiola's appointment as City manager and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo's move to the Etihad Stadium has upped the "morbo" -- a Spanish word that loosely relates to the narrative and intensity of a given rivalry -- and it has not gone unnoticed by Luis Enrique. 

"Nothing surprised me about the draw," he told a news conference on Saturday. "We start with one of the favourites in City, with all the 'morbo' it brings with Guardiola and Bravo.

"But I'm glad that it is City because Bravo can say goodbye to the fans and they can show him their affection. We knew before the draw it would be a tough group."

Bravo, who has been replaced by Jasper Cillessen, joined the Premier League side after having shared goalkeeping duties with Marc-Andre ter Stegen for two seasons in Catalonia. 

Some reports have since suggested there was a toxic relationship between the two as they battled for the No. 1 spot, but Luis Enrique was keen to deny those rumours, praising the Chile international for his attitude and performances during his time with the club. 

"I'd like to say Claudio's work here has been incredible. He's been very professional," the Barca coach said. "He's a unique person who brought a lot to the team at a moment when the goalkeeping situation, after Victor Valdes left, was in doubt.

"I'd also like to say, in first person, that all three goalkeepers [Bravo, ter Stegen, Jordi Masip] have behaved excellently on a daily basis. Their behaviour has been an example.

"The goalkeeping [rotation] has only been successful due to the players' behaviour. If there hadn't been harmony [between Bravo and ter Stegen] it would have been impossible."

The departure of Bravo may not be Barca's last piece of business this summer, with sporting director Robert Fernandez confirming the club are interested in signing Paco Alcacer. 

Luis Enrique batted off questions about the Valencia striker, though, saying he only talks about players already at the club.

He also refused to talk about the possibility of Munir El-Haddadi leaving on loan if Alcacer does arrive, saying: "I don't talk about things that aren't concrete."

Munir has been included in the squad for Sunday's La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao, which Luis Enrique anticipates will be "one of the most difficult away games" of the season.

"San Mames is an incredible stadium, the atmosphere is similar to English football," he added. "[Athletic boss Ernesto] Valverde is very intelligent. They're a hard working team. I like watching them play, it's always tough against them."

Barca opened their title defence with a crushing 6-2 win against Real Betis last weekend, while Athletic suffered a surprise defeat at Sporting Gijon.

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