<
>

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique backs Neymar to end goal drought

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has once again given his support to Neymar, who has now gone 10 games without a goal for his club.

The Brazil forward was last on target in Barca's 4-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League, while he's not registered a goal in La Liga since scoring a penalty against Celta Vigo at the beginning of October.

On top of that, he was once again the centre of attention during Thursday's 2-1 Copa del Rey defeat at Athletic Bilbao. Raul Garcia and Ander Iturraspe were both sent off for fouls on the 24-year-old, who was also denied a penalty when fouled by Xabier Etxeita.

Despite the furore which seems to constantly surround Neymar, though, Luis Enrique insists he's more than happy with his player and tipped him to find the back of the net soon.

"Neymar looks really good," he said in a news conference on Saturday ahead of his side's trip to Villarreal this weekend. If he's demonstrated anything in his career it's his maturity and his ability to overcome tense situations.

"He's going to score a lot of goals, for sure. We just look at the positives and Neymar's performances have provided more positives than negatives. He's having a good season."

The fallout from San Mames -- with the second leg to come on Wednesday at Camp Nou -- has also seen the spotlight fall on Gerard Pique and Athletic striker Aritz Aduriz.

Reports in Spain suggest Barca centre-back Pique could face action for comments he made about referee Fernandez Borbalan after the match, while there have been calls for Aduriz to be retrospectively punished for punching Samuel Umtiti.

Luis Enrique refused to comment on either incident when asked for his opinion, although he did call for more support for referees and more protection for players.

"I'm in favour of anything that can benefit referees, the spectacle of the game and which protects the players," the Barca coach said. "But I prefer not to comment on individual matters."

Pressed further on the possibility of the two players facing a ban in the future, he added: "I'm not going to discuss something which has not happened."