Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 8y

Barcelona's Luis Enrique won't be drawn on Neymar distractions

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has dismissed fears over star forward Neymar's possible distractions as the La Liga leaders head to Real Betis on Saturday afternoon.

With just three games remaining, Barca go into the weekend level on points with Atletico Madrid atop the table, but with the head-to-head'advantage, while Real Madrid are just one point behind in third spot.

A lack of Champions League commitments means Barca have had a quiet week, although star attacker Neymar has been the focus of much media attention after he took advantage of a few days off to spend time socialising and shopping with high-profile friends in London.

After such trips were criticised by the Spanish media, who said the Blaugrana board were unhappy with such public gallivanting [], the Brazilian went on social media to send a cryptic message about looking to religion for protection from the "devil's schemes."

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A photo posted by Nj ���� �� neymarjr (@neymarjr) on

This did not stop further reports on Friday claiming that the 24-year-old has spent $9 million on a new private jet, despite many of his assets being apparently frozen by authorities in his home country amid tax-fraud investigations.

After going five games without scoring as Barca suffered a late-season dip in form, Neymar has scored in Barca's most recent morale boosting wins against Deportivo La Coruna and Sporting Gijon, the Blaugrana coach told his pregame news conference that he had no problems with the displays of any his squad.

"I am delighted with the performances of all my players -- I am not going to pick anyone out," Luis Enrique said. "Although we all can improve our performances, each of us. And we know that to be a Barca player means to be in the news in every moment."

Those two most recent games saw Luis Suarez score eight times in four games to move three clear of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in both the La Liga pichichi and European Golden Shoe top-scorer races, something which Luis Enrique said also benefited the team's chances of winning the title.

"The prize which Luis is chasing is to win the La Liga trophy, the same as all his teammates," he said. "But to win this, some of the goals will be scored by the forwards. The two things go together."

Betis have little to play for as they sit 13th in the table, safe from relegation but with no chance of European qualification for next season after rallying in the second half of the season after Juan Merino replaced Pepe Mel as coach.

"With Merino they have turned the situation around," Luis Enrique said. "They have good players from midfield up front. They do not make things too complicated and are more direct. We do not care if Betis are playing for something or not - sometimes it can boost a team's performances."

With Atletico at home to Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, and Madrid at Real Sociedad, Luis Enrique was asked if he felt his team had the most difficult test this weekend: "I don't have the feeling it will be the most difficult, the three games will be [tough]. But it depends on how we are ourselves. I am optimistic that we will win the double."

Both challengers have had Champions League exertions this week, while Barca have been taking it easier, something which Luis Enrique said he regretted in a way but could now be useful for them domestically.

"We would have liked to have a game every three days, but for training it has been great for us," he said. "We had a different week, with more rest and more training sessions. With just one aim, to beat Betis, although we know it will be difficult, even more away from home."

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