[ad_1]
Undoubtedly the news of the resignation of Josep Bartomeu as president of Barcelona on Tuesday was greeted with joy at Messi’s home.
At the end of the day, the Argentine star’s assessment of Bartomeu’s years at the Camp Nou was scathing: “The truth is that there has not been a clear project here for a long time, they juggle and cover holes without a real plan.”
It led to the very real possibility that Messi would leave Barcelona for the summer, possibly to meet former manager Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
In the end, Messi stayed in the middle of a legal dispute over his release clause, but as long as Bartomeu remained, there would be a shadow over him.
So his explosive start this week is certainly a considerable burden on Barcelona’s star man. And he wasted little time proving it.
Messi was excellent in Barcelona’s 2-0 Champions League win over Juventus on Wednesday night, a performance capped with a goal from the penalty spot in injury time when they took over the group.
His influence across the field is shown in a striking field map of all his passes in Turin and many observers did not miss that this excellent performance came 24 hours after Bartomeu’s departure.
The number 10 and the Barça captain roamed all areas of the field to keep their team going, with only a handful of their dozens of passes missing their target.
The court map shows how Messi drifted from left to right and backs up to offer defensive cover when needed in a performance of energy and class.
UEFA statistics showed Messi attempted 87 passes during his 98 minutes on the field, including injury time in both halves, and completed 76 of them.
Only Jordi Alba tried more passes at night and 13 of his were in the direction of Messi.
In the end, even Barcelona’s official Twitter account was able to have a little digging on Messi’s rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, absent after his positive Covid-19 test.
It certainly represented a stark contrast to the last game of Bartomeu’s reign, the Clásico’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid.
Messi then struggled to make a big impact on a Barca performance that raised many questions.
Messi’s heat map for the Real game shows him trapped in one part of the field, unable to have much of an impact on the outcome.
His subsequent display against Juventus showed a world-class player influencing everything, whether or not Bartomeu’s departure was the reason.
Barcelona fans concerned about Messi’s mood will feel reassured and Bartomeu’s departure could mean he completes his career in his colors.
For now, Messi will need to inject a little life into Barcelona’s league campaign. He is currently twelfth, already six points behind his Madrid rivals.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
[ad_2]
