Barça’s game is not at its best. Few goals and too many imperfections in a team that, despite everything, achieved a victory that may not serve to get the League. But also in a complicated context, Messi managed to break a new record, in this case as the top assistant in the competition. He did so, though, without a smile. If Barça suffers, Messi suffers.
Barça live another torture to stay alive in the League (0-1)
Since the restart, Barça have not been able to win most of the matches comfortably. The team’s lack of goal is leading Quique Setién to try different systems and squeeze the versatility of their players. This is the case of Leo Messi, who, although he has played the last seven consecutive league games -in all he has played in the 90 minutes-, has only managed to score one goal -from a penalty against Atlético de Madrid-. This is the first time that Messi has recorded a trend like this in his fifteen-year career wearing the Barça shirt. In the first two games after the break, he scored against Mallorca the only goal that has not been a penalty in recent months.
Despite the Argentine’s low scoring record, his role as an assistant is gaining more and more prominence in his game. In the match against Valladolid, the Argentine equaled the figure of Xavi Hernández of twenty assists in a season in the league that he had since the 2008-09 season. The key assist came in Barça’s only goal in the 15th minute of the match. Messi, with the ball near the Valladolid area, assisted with a subtle touch with the left, which enabled, among rival defenses, Arturo Vidal. It was the twentieth attendance this season in League. Messi and Xavi are the only two footballers to have reached the final twenty passes in the league since the turn of the century. The Argentine’s favorite partner this season is Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan is the most benefited by his connection, with eight assists from the Barça captain. The other striker of the trident, Antoine Griezmann, has received three, and both Ansu Fati and Arturo Vidal have benefited twice.
In the whole season, Messi has already accumulated twenty-four assists, adding those made in the Champions League and those generated in the Copa del Rey. It remains to be seen whether, in the remaining two league games and in European competition, the Argentine will be able to further fatten his account as an assistant and beat his own mark. The absolute record of the League is held by Leo Messi himself. Up to twenty-nine assists gave in the 2014-15 season between all competitions.
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