Valverde praises 'incredible heart' from all-action Vidal

The Barcelona boss shone a light on the midfielder following the come-from-behind victory against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga

Arturo Vidal's lionhearted performance was an essential factor in Barcelona's hard-earned win over Rayo Vallecano, according to Ernesto Valverde.

The La Liga leaders came from behind to prevail 3-1 at Camp Nou on Saturday thanks to goals from Gerard Pique, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Chile international Vidal, 31, started for the 19th time in all competitions since his switch from Bayern Munich in August and was typically energetic in helping Barca overturn Raul de Tomas' 24th-minute opener.

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The midfielder registered more touches and tackles than any other player on the pitch and earned warm praise from his head coach.

"He played a great game in many ways," said Valverde.

"He has an incredible heart, he's always close to the penalty area – his own and the opposition's – and he has a very high recovery rate.

"Both he and [Sergio] Busquets kept us going at certain times."

Philippe Coutinho endured a less successful outing and was withdrawn in the 80th minute to a mixed reception from the home fans.

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🔝 @kingarturo23 set new personal @laligaEN highs in four categories:

116 touches
95 passes
11 recoveries
8 tackles

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The 26-year-old has not scored in La Liga since October, but Valverde urged the Brazil star to continue believing in his abilities.

"Coutinho fought the whole game," he said. "We always expect our players to take a rabbit out of the hat. Sometimes it comes out and sometimes it does not.

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"You need to persevere to find those moves that give you confidence."

The result preserved Barca's seven-point lead over nearest chasers Atletico Madrid, but it also came at something of a cost, with the club confirming an injury to Ousmane Dembele leaving him in doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 second leg clash.

The club will follow on from Wednesday's Champions League match with a league showdown against Real Betis next Sunday ahead of the international break.