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#2 Can Barcelona create chances when Lionel Messi is not in full throttle?
It might seem like Barcelona are underperforming after Messi came into the team. But it isn't really his fault as well. Then what's wrong? Well, when Lionel Messi comes out with intent to win the game, Barcelona would seem like vintage Barcelona. Against Tottenham, they had a mammoth game, the same thing against Sevilla, they put the game out of the reach within the first 15 minutes.
But when Lionel Messi is not showing the amount of intensity on the pitch, which is more of his usual self, Barcelona are struggling. Almost every attack has to go through him. Every player wants to link-up with Messi. No matter who, Vidal, Rakitic, Coutinho, Alba, Dembele or Suarez if he was there. Messi has to be the creator in chief every time. In games like yesterday, when Messi hardly seemed interested in the game, Barcelona have to try something new.
When the team trusts him too much, he tends to give away possession, misplaces passes and starts trying too much himself. For example, how many chances did Jordi Alba have to pick out a person better than Messi in the box?
But he didn't, he always went for Leo, even if the angles were bad or he was smothered. Messi did not ask for the pass as well. Barcelona's only creation of a goal was from Messi. In no other occasion was a player free behind the defence. Messi picked Alena out with an inch-perfect through ball to seal the deal.
That is Messi. You cannot trust him to press the opposition while defending or just pass to him every time even when more options are available. If I recollect correctly, Messi missed a peach of a through pass which could have let Coutinho free. But why did the pass have to be to him in the first place? Semedo could indeed have lobbed it over anticipating Coutinho's run. Fix this gaffer, fix this.
