Roura overjoyed after Villa's starring role

Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura hailed the importance of David Villa following the striker's display in Sunday's 3-1 La Liga win over Rayo Vallecano.

Villa, whose campaign last term was wrecked by injury, has gradually forced his way back into the first-team reckoning after regaining full fitness, and has featured regularly for the Catalan outfit in recent weeks.

On Sunday, he linked up with Lionel Messi to devastating effect to help his side restore their 13-point lead at the top of the table, and Roura, taking charge of the team while boss Tito Vilanova undergoes cancer treatment, believes the 31-year-old still has a key role to play at the club.

"There are no doubts about his importance," he said on the club's official website. "Villa has always been important and he's helped us a lot these past couple of weeks.

"The most important thing is that Villa is doing well.

"It's a great joy for us to see him score because he brings a lot to the team."

Although Sunday's game ultimately ended in a comfortable victory for Barca, Roura dismissed suggestions that the result had been a foregone conclusion even before kickoff and had words of praise for their opponents.

"Tonight's [Sunday's] match was great," he added. "Especially after the fatigue from the [AC] Milan game [in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday].

"The fans got to watch an entertaining game. [Rayo are] a special team and they play some of the best football in the league."

One negative from Sunday was an injury to left-back Adriano Correira, who is set to join captain Carles Puyol on the sidelines for up to six weeks after tearing his hamstring.

"His [Adriano's] injury is the negative news from the match," Roura lamented.
"It's significant because we are also without Puyol."

Following the international break, Barca are back in action on March 30 when they visit Celta Vigo in the league.