Lionel Messi remains an enigma for Barcelona over the past decade and has been the constant force despite many upheavals in the club. the Argentine superstar shows no signs of regressing and leads the Spanish league in both goals an assists this season.
In a season where Barcelona looked to reduce the dependence on their talisman with the bedding in of record signing Coutinho and French prodigy, Ousmane Dembele Messi continues to be the main creator in the squad.
Barcelona plays Lyon in the Champions League and there have been talks in recent weeks on how dependent the team is on their star player. The Catalan outfit seems to resemble a different side without the Argentine in the squad.
This has been a reoccurring issue during the tenure of Ernesto Valverde. In fact Barcelona would have been unbeaten in the Last campaign if not that Messi was rested for the crucial defeat to Levante in the penultimate game of the season. This problem is one that baffles the Nou Camp faithful though they don’t complain as Messi bails the team most times.
Luis Suarez has been a shadow of himself in the past two seasons with his inconsistency infuriating supporters. The Uruguay international has scored just 2 goals in his last 21 appearances in the Champions League little wonder the dominance of Madrid in recent years.
“Coutinho is a curious case as the midfielder thrived last season in the midfield but has failed to display the form that made Barcelona “ splash a huge fee to sign the midfielder last season. Dembele personal issues are well documented but he appears to be the only forward that thrives when “he plays alongside Messi “
Barcelona would be hoping that the mercurial number 10 continues his good form to the end of the season beginning with the match away to Lyon. The club’s treble hopes lie on the shoulder of a player considered to be one of the greatest to ever play the game.