Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard hailed the increasing impact of Samuel Eto`o after the Cameroon striker scored twice in the Catalans` 3-1 win at Real Mallorca on Sunday night.
Eto`o has made a steady, if unspectacular, start to his Nou Camp career but was the dominant figure at the Son Moix as Barca continued their impressive start to the new Primera Liga season.
The former Mallorca striker not only hit a double against his former club - the first of which came from the penalty spot - but also linked up well with strike partner, and fellow goalscorer, Henrik Larsson to leave Rijkaard purring.
The Dutchman said: "Eto`o is very confident and it is very clear. For the penalty there were three or four players that can take them and they decide on the pitch.
"It was no surprise to me that Ronaldinho, as with the others, left it to Eto`o.
"In
thefirst 45 minutes the front two had a lot of chances, they functioned well together but the best conclusion is that we have more options to make rotations with the team and adapt our play to different needs."
A comfortable win away from home would have satisfied most coaches but Rijkaard left Palma furious that his side conceded a late goal that prevented them from going top of the table.
"We played well in the first half against Mallorca but matches are for 90 minutes," he added.
"In the first half we had a lot of opportunities but when everything appears straightforward it easily goes wrong.
"However we deserved to win, even though it is a shame that we are not on top of the table.
"It is clear that it was not our best game, we committed too many errors when looking to score and also in the passing. But they will learn from these errors."
