Luis Enrique has hailed the "spectacular" performance of Neymar against Athletic Bilbao following recent controversial comments aimed the Barcelona forward's way.
Barca vice-president Jordi Mestre suggested that Neymar was fouled regularly because he "often provokes defenders", before backtracking and claiming that it was not intended as a criticism of the Brazilian trickster.
Neymar responded with another solid display against Bilbao at Camp Nou on Saturday, helping his side to a comfortable 3-0 win that lifts them back into second place in La Liga, leading to praise from boss Enrique.
"Neymar did everything as normal and he was spectacular," he told reporters. "We saw a brilliant version of Neymar and he's vital for us.
"The objective of the team is to fight to help the pressure. The forwards are the first ones who go to press. In order to win trophies, you have to defend well. Leaving the goalkeeper with nothing is a good omen for us."
Neymar now has five goals and seven assists in the Spanish top flight this season, as well as a further four goals in European and domestic cup competitions.
Daniel Lewis
