Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard defended the performance of Thierry Henry in last night's 3-1 defeat of Athletic Bilbao.

Henry has declared he's still three weeks away from his best and was below par for the hour he played in attack against Bilbao.

"It's important to talk about the Henry we have now," said Rijkaard, "not who we potentially can have in the future.

"Everyone can have their say on a game, but I am convinced we won easily and deserved to do so. The team works with Henry, Ronaldinho and Deco, but also without them."