Barcelona hero Eric Abidal is full of praise for young defender Samuel Umtiti.

The Frenchman arrived in the summer from Lyon.

Abidal told Sport: “I'm surprised how quickly he'd adapted. It's not taken him long to take on the club's philosophy, style of play and mentality… It took me six months, much longer than him.

“He's brilliant at bringing the ball out and calm when in high risk situations. We've already seen that at Lyon. I'm convinced that as time passes he'll be much better than me."

Eric also had some words for Aleix Vidal, who has been left out of the squad for three consecutive matches.

"It is difficult not to play," he said. “Aleix Vidal will have to talk to the coach or leave."