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Real Sociedad will come up against Lionel Messi and Barcelona on Sunday night in a crucial La Liga encounter. Real Sociedad's head coach, Imanol Alguacil, heaped praise on Barcelona and Lionel Messi terming it a 'beautiful challenge' for his side.
Speaking to reporters, Alguacil said:
"Messi is unstoppable, I think there is no coach or team or player who is capable of stopping Messi. He has shown it and will continue to do so as long as he is physically strong,
“Barcelona have had a great run since January and for us it is a beautiful challenge.
“We played at home, where last year we managed to draw and this year, in the Super Cup, we also saw how they played against us, so you have to see if we are able, at least, to be competitive and take advantage of the opportunities we may have.”
Barcelona are just 4 points behind Atletico Madrid in the league table and Ronald Koeman will be hoping that his captain and talisman Lionel Messi inspires them to another crucial victory tonight.
Lionel Messi's Barcelona future has been subject to intense specualtion in the last few months
With Lionel Messi's contract running out at the end of this summer, Barcelona will need to move quickly and decisively to ensure that their star man stays at the club. The newly elected president, Joan Laporta, vowed to do everything in his power to prevent the legendary 'number 10' from leaving:
"I take the opportunity to say again that I will try to convince Leo (Messi) to stay with us. That is a must-do task, I will do all I can. He knows it,
"Whatever he does will be OK but we will try to make him stay because he is the best player in the history of football."
At 33, Lionel Messi is still going strong and has been in remarkable form in 2021. The Barcelona captain has an astonishing 10 goals and 5 assists in his last 9 games and is looking revitalized after a jaded and indifferent start to the season.
With Barcelona still active in La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, Ronald Koeman and Lionel Messi will be aiming to win an impressive domestic double this season.
Also read: Barcelona ready to offer Antoine Griezmann in sensational swap deal with Juventus - Reports
