The Asturian coach reached a century of games in charge of the Catalan club on Sunday and secured a vital victory very much in his image as they prevailed 2-0 at Levante
Luis Enrique's Barcelona keep on winning. The 45-year-old oversaw his 100th game as Blaugrana boss on Sunday and marked the milestone with yet another victory. That's 80 in total now in his time at the Catalan club - and this one was very much in his own image.
It wasn't classic Barca by any means. The Catalans came flying out of the blocks and had the ball in the net after just two minutes through Lionel Messi, only to see that strike incorrectly ruled out for offside. Had it been allowed, the course of the match may have been different altogether.
But Barcelona rarely relish early kick-offs and even though they did eventually take the lead with a somewhat fortuitous own-goal when a cross deflected in off David Navarro, it was a poor performance from the champions in the first 45 minutes. In the windy conditions, Luis Enrique's men managed only one other shot on target - and Levante had hit the post before the break as well.
The second half was little better. Levante left men forward and did not allow Barca to have things their own way. The visitors improved when Sergio Busquets came on to replace Ivan Rakitic, but they only wrapped up the win in added time as Luis Suarez scored finished off a counter-attacking move as Levante looked for an equaliser and left a huge hole at the back.
The nature of the win will not bother Luis Enrique at all, however. The Asturian coach has now won 80 of his first 100 games in charge at the Catalan club (compared to Pep Guardiola's 71 in his first 100) and he also has five trophies to his name so far including last season's treble triumph.
And after claiming the Champions League in Berlin to complete the treble last June, Luis Enrique said: "We have played 60 games, won 50, drawn four and lost six. Those are the best numbers of any season in the history of the club."
He was right. And his numbers up until now remain the best in the history of the club, even if Guardiola claimed six out of six trophies in his first 18 months in charge - one more than his former Barca and Spain team-mate.
Incidentally, Luis Enrique equalled Pep's record of 28 games unbeaten on Sunday and can now surpass that mark in the Copa del Rey away to Valencia on Wednesday.
FULL STORY | Barca do enough to beat Levante
"The wind makes things difficult for those who want to play football and it made life complicated for us all," the Barca boss said afterwards. "But given the circumstances, the team did all that was necessary. I am happy to close out the result."
Levante are currently bottom of the Primera Division, but a trip to the Ciutat de Valencia is always considered to be a tough test for Barca due to the poor playing surface and the windy conditions.
So it is another obstacle overcome by the league leaders, who are three points clear of second-placed Atletico with a game in hand over Diego Simeone's side, with Real Madrid four further back ahead of their trip to Granada later on Sunday.
"It wasn't a spectacular game, but they are three very valuable points," Andres Iniesta said afterwards. "We give a lot of importance to not dropping points."
Barca still have to travel to Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga, while they also face a Clasico clash at home to Real Madrid in April and there is still work to be done if they are to claim a second successive league title under Luis Enrique.
But the Asturian has made Barca much more resilient than before and even when they are not playing well (like against Levante), they are able to grind out results in a way they were unable to in the past.
Sunday's success was as much about brawn than it was about brilliance, but that is exactly what Luis Enrique has brought to the table with the team's fantastic forward line, the added aggression of Rakitic in midfield and more options tactically all over the pitch.
It may not always be beautiful, but it's incredibly effective. It's why Barca have won 80 of Luis Enrique's first 100 games - and it's why the Catalans remain the team to beat both at home and in Europe.
- Goal