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Barça get their third championship of the season against Real Betis Sevilla. The Catalans are still not happy with that. Not surprisingly, Ansu Fati is seriously injured and Antoine Griezmann is on permanent loss. So everything sticks back to Lionel Messi.
The amazement was great among the Barça fans when the starting eleven against Betis Sevilla was announced. One Lionel Messi was missing from the top eleven. A rarity in La Liga: The Argentine was last replaced over a year ago, but this was due to injury at the time.
So it was curious if his new boss, Ronald Koeman, wanted to mess with the club’s legend. The performance of the six-time world footballer left much to be desired in recent games, and the goal balance was also meager by his standards. In addition, a video went through social networks in which he was accused of lack of commitment.
“Leo came out of the game against Dynamo Kiev with a small physical problem and was not fit to start from the first minute. So we talked about it and decided to put it on the bench because we might need it during the game, “says Koeman. He points out: “But it is clear that when a player like Messi is fit and has no physical problems, he always starts from the first minute.”
Griezmann inconsolable after a failed penalty
The Barça offense was made up of other players: young stars Ansu Fati and Pedri have long had a regular seat guarantee. Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann, on the other hand, shouldn’t feel so safe. The two Frenchmen were able to play together again from the beginning.
While the shape curve of the blink Dembélé points upwards, he also scored the lead with a solid shot, his compatriot Griezmann was again unlucky in the first round. After half an hour Fati got into the penalty area, but Griezmann missed with his penalty. With practically the whistle of rest, the guests managed to equalize. Upon entering the cabin, Griezmann was about to cry.
To make matters worse, Fati had to stay in the cabin. The 18-year-old suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee. There is a risk of a hiatus of several months, but an exact diagnosis is still pending.
For him Messi came into play. The presence of his superstar seemed to feed the team. A few minutes after being substituted, the 33-year-old let the ball pass under his legs, Griezmann managed to get the ball into the orphan goal. To his elation, he seemed to release a great burden. Jordi Alba also said: “Griezmann needed the goal to increase his confidence.”
Suárez is now shooting his goals elsewhere
Messi also had enough faith in himself. He first used a penalty to take the 3-1 lead, but then another hit stifled hopes with his second hit. Pedri made it all clear with the 5: 2 score. With the triple, Barcelona improved from twelfth to eighth after a poor start to the season. But the failure of the Fati hopefuls hurts. Once again, all the pressure is on Messi on offense.
The Catalans could use a top striker right now. Luis Suárez, who found a new home at Atlético de Madrid, retired before the start of the season for a modest € 6 million. The Uruguayan is as accurate as ever: he scored his fifth goal of the season against Cádiz.
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