Liverpool legend Shankley once said: "There are two great teams in this city: Liverpool and Liverpool Youth Team." Shankley said this to anger Everton, a mortal enemy in the city. Nowadays, Argentine legend Valdano uses the same discourse structure to praise Messi: "The best player in the world is Messi, and the second best player is the injured Messi." This is a bit exaggerated, but it cannot be said to be out of reality.
For example, in the last round of La Liga against Valladolid, Messi only played 50% of his skills, and he is still looking for the rhythm before his injury (in the game against Valencia, he suffered a muscle injury in his right leg). Although he didn't play well and conceded the ball many times under the pressure of the opponent, he was still the only player in Barcelona who could get his teammates to play. Every time Messi gets the ball, he can attract at least two opponents' defenders and can still create threats. He also scored a goal in the
game, although it was just a penalty kick. This season in La Liga, Messi scored 22 goals in 22 games, making him the unquestionable top scorer in La Liga. In addition, he scored 31 goals in 11 consecutive seasons in various competitions. Although Barcelona performed mediocrely against Valladolid, Messi remained the team's well-deserved leader. And after this round of La Liga, Barcelona has led and Real Madrid by as many as 9 points.
It’s no secret that Messi is holding the kick now. Rakitic said: "We run for him, this is the right he won." Roberto also said: "I am willing to block loopholes in the defense line, as long as Messi has a sense of freshness in the offense, because no one can compare to him."
Everyone is willing to serve Messi, because every player in Barcelona knows that the ball must run through Messi's feet. Messi can turn stones into gold, he can give everyone candy, and can complete a goal in the final goal. "The more we serve Messi, the better." Valverde said at a press conference last year that it was like this in the game against Valladolid, even though Messi was playing on the court.
Messi is not new to playing throughout the game. For example, in the national derby in December 2017, he spent 83% of the time walking on the Bernabeu lawn, but he participated in the team's three goals, making the opponent unable to defend. He completed 6 passes, while Real Madrid only had 2 passes.
Guardiola once interpreted Messi's football: "Messi is walking and playing the game, but he is scanning the situation every moment. He is the player with the least running in La Liga. But when he got the ball, he had completed a full scan of space and time. He knew where everyone was. Bang!" Guardiola imitated the sound of the shooting.
and the game against Valladolid fully proves this. Messi decided to save his energy, he knew he had just recovered from injury, and the team will play against Lyon in the Champions League 21/8 final on Tuesday. Last Saturday against Valladolid, he used his mind to disintegrate his opponent. He was in control of the situation very late because there were many strange ball-handling mistakes or pass mistakes in the game, but he quickly learned that the team did not need gun mount but the gunner, because Boateng can only play with his back to the opponent's goal.
In the game, he challenged Masipu with his shots 7 times, but only scored one goal with a penalty kick. He also lost a penalty before the game ended. In his career, Messi made 68 of his 90 free throws, with a shooting percentage of 75.5%. Barcelona midfielder Alenia said: "Although it doesn't seem to be, Leo is also a human being."
Messi has a greater advantage in the scorer list, and has scored 7 more goals than second-ranked Suarez . But one fact cannot be hidden, that is, Messi is not in his best condition now. Now he has high conceded goals and pass mistakes, but he still created opportunities for Dembele and Suarez. In addition, he has used small-scale sprints to open up space for his teammates many times, and his several shots are also very threatening.
"Messi has done a good job in all aspects." said Barcelona executive Amor .If not all are good, they are close to all. However, the Champions League is coming. After experiencing the nightmare of last season, Barcelona understands a fact that they must not relax at all in the Champions League. Lyon is a team that hopes to compete with their opponents, and Messi may not be able to play on the court.
