Diehard fans of Lionel Messi anxious for the better part of this season for their hero’s performances clearly not up to the other-worldly standards set by the diminutive footballer – that many, peers, coaches and fans alike, have unhesitatingly declared the best ever in the history of the game – can now breathe a huge sigh of relief as their idol has strung together multiple promising performances for Paris Saint-Germain lately, which Brazilian defender Marquinhos attributes to multiple key factors.
The Brazilian international and Messi’s colleague took time off to speak on RMC Sport’s Rothen S’enflamme show, where he clearly laid out the reasons behind Messi’s uptake in form in recent PSG fixtures, which have been critical in showing his growing understanding of how his PSG team-mates play.
“A lot of things have changed for Leo Messi,” Marquinhos said. “We can see that he is progressing slowly. I feel it very well at the moment. He is happy, in training we can see it.
“In matches we see him becoming more and more comfortable, understanding more of the teammates he has around, our way of playing, which changes from where he comes from. ”
Regardless of whether he’s featuring as a center-forward upfront or as a winger, Messi has been key in crucial goal contributions for PSG in Ligue 1 play, not to mention having performed much better in the Champions League so far this season. The Argentine seems to have evolved into being more of a creative playmaker than a goal-scorer, as 10 of his 12 goal contributions in the league campaign have been assists. However, it would be pure folly to dare to pre-judge the Argentine icon and world legend too soon on his goal-scoring abilities at this stage in time as he is still only in his early 30s and is in no way over the hill yet, clearly.
Both Messi and Marquinhos could be featuring together in both of PSG’s key fixtures up next in the league away match against OGC Nice and the second leg of the side’s UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against Real Madrid.