Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde was delighted with their 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano.

Valverde had admitted that his mind jumped to the ghosts of Lega's Estadio Butarque at times as they trail.

In the end, Luis Suarez helped fire the LaLiga Santander leaders to a 3-2 victory and, as a result, they continued their recent impressive run.

"The ghost of Butarque appeared everywhere in moments like that second half," Valverde confessed in his post-match press conference.

"But, in the end, we won by playing something else.

"When you play against a team who have turned the score around, a precedent always comes to mind and Rayo play and fight and do a lot of things well."

Barcelona have struggled defensively this year and are without a clean sheet in LaLiga Santander since round two.

"Inter didn't score," Valverde said, pointing to the recent Champions League victory.

"We scored three, so all is well.

"We're better because we're closer together, but we have to keep working."