The Catalans have breezily picked up from where they left off after notching back-to-back victories since returning to action following the long hiatus. Yet despite Barcelona’s continuous display of brilliance enabling the club to keep its edge at the peak of La Liga, Barca’s talisman Messi does not seem pleased enough with the outcome.
The Blaugrana’s star captain is reportedly unhappy with his team despite their recent two straight wins. Diario GOL reports that the Argentine was irked with his squad’s defensive unit’s lapses, which he believes would take a toll on them when they start playing against much tougher teams.
Messi had been seen huddling with Barca’s defensive crew at one instance during Saturday’s match against Mallorca wherein he appeared to be giving them an earful following a series of mistakes committed on the field. His boys were evidently attentive and Barcelona went on to secure their win.
Nonetheless Messi is expecting much better execution as they head over to Sevilla on Friday to face Los Palanganas, who are expected to give Barcelona a stiffer challenge compared to their recent two outings.
“Next, the Blaugrana visit the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, one of the toughest venues in La Liga for an away side,” Atharva Khadilkar of Everything Barca wrote.
“The Andalusians are chasing a European spot and will come out on all guns blazing after a day’s rest and a rather harsh result against Levante, where an own goal on the last-minute saw them drop two massive points.”
The same report pointed out the specific faults from the Blaugrana’s play, which were perhaps a manifestation of rust expected after coming off a long break.
“Defensively, Barca did look solid in their first match against Mallorca but were at the end of some lapses against Leganes. In fact, the Madrid-based minnows could have scored once or twice in the opening half as a result of Junior Firpo and Sergi Roberto being caught napping on an occasion each, allowing Javier Aguirre’s side to attack freely,” Khadilkar added.
Despite the resilient and adaptable Messi being of assistance critical to his teammates on the defensive end, the Argentine reportedly is also expecting more scoring production from Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez, and Martin Braithwaite.
Barcelona holds a slim two-point lead over Real Madrid in the league race, hence Quique Setién and his boys are expected to shift to an even higher gear approaching the more crucial stages of the season.