Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde claimed that he has run out of words when it comes to describing Lionel Messi’s brilliance. The Argentine superstar was influential for Barcelona in the recent 5-1 victory over Real Valladolid. Messi was able to score twice in the game – including a free kick that provided has 50th goal from such a scenario. There were also assists for Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal. This victory helped Barcelona to return to the top of the standings. After a difficult start of the campaign, the Catalan outfit have picked up seven consecutive wins.
Messi’s form was questioned in the first few weeks of the season, as he faced issues about injuries. There were also uncertainties surrounding the arrival of Neymar. All these contributed to a difficult start for Barcelona we have been able to open a solitary point advantage over archrivals Real Madrid. The recent postponement of the El Clasico means that Barcelona will have to wait several weeks before they go up against Madrid. Until then, they will be happy to sit at the top standings with such big wins. The big victory also allowed Valverde to give a debut to a 16-year-old. Ansu Fati, who is highly regarded in European football, was given an opportunity to enjoy his second league start.
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Speaking to reporters, Valverde admitted that Coutinho is going through a difficult phase with the Catalan giants and termed the situation as being ‘unlucky’. He added that both Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele remain vital figures to the team while not ruling out the possibility of the duo playing together more often.
Valverde is coming under immense pressure on already and one of the few joys for Barcelona came in the Champions League where they have picked up back-to-back wins. The summer witnessed several changes in the Barcelona setup and they seem to have missed the magic that made them champions last season. The failure to win the recent matches has been characterised by a lack of creativity and Barcelona are now behind Sevilla going into the international break. Valverde lamented Valencia scoring from one of the few mistakes that Barcelona committed in the match and he is confident of the team recovering back to their best in the near future.
Speaking after the game, Valverde was full of praise for the attacker, who scored Barcelona’s 6000th La Liga goal with a lovely free-kick which was intentionally placed underneath the opposition wall, he said: “Messi is a genius. We’re lucky to be able to see him every day. We’re lucky to be involved in football during the era in which he is playing — we want him to pull a rabbit from the hat every day. There’s still room for Messi to surprise us. He always surprises you — he never ceases to amaze me, honestly. You have to be ready to expect anything from Messi because he sees what no one else sees.”
