5 underrated performances from Lionel Messi’s Barcelona career

Barcelona 3-0 Juventus – 2017-18 Champions League group stage

When the Champions League groups for the 2017-18 campaign were formally announced in August of 2017, the excitement amongst the football world ran rampant at the anticipation of watching fixtures like PSG against Bayern Munich or Real Madrid against Tottenham. But the main event and one many looked forward too — including Messi — was Barcelona against Juventus.

For Messi, he had a ton to prove against the Italian powerhouse club. Barcelona were just months removed from their quarterfinal elimination at the hands of Juventus, so the September Champions League group stage clash presented the Argentine for an opportunity to avenge the loss. This was also a team in which he had never scored against, with zero goal contributions in three previous duels, including the 2015 Champions League Final.

Those in the Spanish media also billed the fixture as Messi’s first test in the post-Neymar era. Could Messi prove he can provide world class performances without the presence of a top-five player alongside him?

In vintage Messi style, he orchestrated a profound home performance in the Champions League.

After electing to play in a 4-4-2 setup throughout the early portions of the season, manager Ernesto Valverde reverted his side back to their synonymous 4-3-3 formation with Messi operating as a winger. However, the team occasionally shifted back to the 4-4-2 over the course of the game. This paid dividends for Barcelona as Messi’s movements to alternate between the flanks and center-forward areas of the pitch did not leave in behind a void of space in either instance. Thus, Barcelona were often symmetrically balanced on the pitch.

Messi had much more space to work with when compared to the Champions League knockout stage encounter from earlier in the year. Whenever he approached Zone 14 of the pitch, the crowd slowly rose up in anticipation because of the vast amount of space around him. This was all made possible from the quick combination passes with teammates Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta along with the swift off-ball runs in behind Juventus’ lines.

Messi finished with two goals — both coming from movements within Zone 14. He also contributed to Ivan Rakitic’s goal as although the Argentine’s through pass from the edge of the box was cleared away by Juventus defender Mattia De Sciglio, the ball tricked over to Ivan Rakitic for an effortless tap in score.

Messi silenced the critics yet again.