Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has admitted his frustrated with the LFP's decision to stage this weekend's Liga clash with Espanyol on Sunday.
The Catalans have already qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League but they welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Camp Nou on Wednesday for a game that will decide the winners of Group F and, by consequence, which side will be seeded in the last 16.
Luis Enrique is thus upset that his team have been left with such little time to prepare for their crunch continental clash.
“We can't do anything [about the schedule],” the Barca boss told reporters at a media conference on Saturday. “TV decides; they are the people who pay."
Still, Luis Enrique was, at least, able to find a positive in the 17:00CET kick-off: "I think it’s a great time for lots of young people to come to the stadium."
Furthermore, despite his obvious irritation with the scheduling, the ex-midfield ace is looking forward to facing tackling Barca's city rivals once again, albeit this time as a coach.
Indeed, Luis Enrique is expecting a competitive encounter - even though the two clubs operate on two very different financial plains.
"Derbies are attractive games," he enthused. "We all want to win them – especially those against Espanyol.
"Clearly there are differences between budgets and goals of the teams but the derbies are always intense. It will be difficult.
"The local players will be especially sensitive to the importance of the match but everyone knows it's a different game. It is very nice to play in these matches.”
Meanwhile, Luis Enrique took time out to hail the professionalism of defender Martin Montoya, who has already revealed that he expects to leave Barca at the end of the season because of a lack of game time.
"I have only words of praise for Montoya, for his behaviour and his attitude,” the former Spain international added.
“He's working to change the situation. I encourage him to continue fighting and putting pressure on those who play in similar positions.”
source: goal.com
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