Player Focus: Messi Worth More Than Just His Weight in Goals to Barcelona

Lionel Messi being man of the match in a Barcelona victory at the Camp Nou is not exactly news.

Messi got his 22nd such award of the season from WhoScored in Saturday’s 2-0 home win over Valencia, in which the Argentine laid on the first goal for Luis Suarez [his 16th La Liga assist of the season] and scored the second himself [35 goals in 32 games].

Messi also hit the crossbar with a superbly flighted 25-yard free-kick, and had two other decent chances to score. During the game he also played three key passes, completed four dribbles and was fouled four times. Plus - although his injury time goal was not the cleanest finish of his career, it was his 400th goal for Barca.

These typically Messiesque numbers do not, however, come close to telling the full story of the blaugrana number 10’s contribution to Barcelona winning the game, and keeping the gap at the top of the Liga table to two points ahead of second placed Real Madrid.

Messi’s most important moments came midway through the first half, when his team were really struggling. Valencia had responded with great character to going 1-0 down inside the first minute, and began to dominate. The visitors really should have scored at least once during a 30-minute spell in which Dani Parejo missed a penalty, Paco Alcacer hit a post, and Sofiane Feghouli, Andre Gomes and Rodrigo also went close.

Barca’s defence were really rocking, and Valencia were almost unbelievably on top at times. The hosts were unable to bring the ball out from the back in their usual manner. Valencia’s hard-pressing forwards and midfield went man for man, and did not allow the player in possession any time on the ball, which meant Messi, Suarez and Neymar were generally isolated up top.

The issue was also at least partly-caused by Barca coach Luis Enrique having started both ‘holders’ Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano in midfield, alongside 35-year old Xavi Hernandez. Mascherano is not ideally suited to a deep-lying playmaker role, and his 83.1 percent pass completion rate was the lowest on his team. Busquets was out of position, in the ‘interior’ role usually filled by Andres Iniesta, and uncomfortable receiving the ball facing his own goal. Xavi, meanwhile, suffered badly against Valencia’s younger, bigger and stronger midfielders, twice in the first 25 minutes coughing up possession deep in his own half, which lead directly to dangerous Valencia attacks.

Seeing what was going wrong, Messi decided to do something about it. He’s never really chained to his nominal station on the right of the front three, but on Saturday it was noticeable how he began to drop into midfield much more than usual to get on the ball. The team’s top scorer was often deeper than either Mascherano or Busquets, as he offered himself to receive possession in tight central areas, then laid it off simply to a colleague, that way helping Barca keep the ball and move up the pitch.

Highly-respected blaugrana pundit Marcos Lopez noted what was happening from his spot in the Camp Nou press seats.

“I loved watching Messi play today,” Lopez said on El Larguero radio show Saturday night. “He scored a goal which is not a typical Messi goal, on the rebound, a bit strange. But the command of the game which Messi had was extraordinary. When Barca needed him most, Messi left his wing and played on the right, on the left, as a traditional centre-midfielder, attacking midfield, either side. He alone calmed the game down. It then all played out more naturally.”

This influence appeared to be less noticeable in the Barca dug-out. Luis Enrique claimed repeatedly at his post-game news conference that his own half-time change, when he sent on midfielder Ivan Rakitic for left-back Adriano Correia amid a general reshuffle, had changed the momentum of the match.

That substitution had been a pretty obvious one, and Rakitic did make a difference - the Croatian made 53 passes in his 45 minutes on the pitch [at a 98.1% success rate]. But he was operating in a much different environment to the first half. Even before half-time Messi began and almost finished two moves that might have made it 2-0 - including one uncharacteristic miss from just 10 yards. He had already taken the game by the scruff of the neck, and swung the momentum his team’s way.

The statistics bear out that Messi was more involved over the 90 minutes than usual. He finished the game having made 72 passes, at a 91.7% success rate. This is well above his average in both figures for this season, as he is usually involved less often in the play, and tries something more risky when on the ball. His La Liga average for the season is 60.7 passes at an 82.8% success rate. On Saturday he changed his style to help his team get more of the ball in the centre of the park - as that is what the game needed.

Looking a bit further back, we can see that even Messi’s average involvement in the game so far this term is way up on his last two seasons in La Liga. In 2012/13, under Tito Vilanova, his average was 55 completed passes per 90 minutes. In 2013/14, with Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino as Barca coach, Messi made just 45.3 passes per game. Whether for injury, tactical or other reasons, the team's best player was becoming less and less involved in the game.

This year’s improved average of 60.7 passes per game still falls a bit short of his highs under Josep Guardiola in 2010/11 [67.7] and 2011/12 [63.8]. However Luis Enrique’s Barca are much more direct than during Pep’s time, making much fewer passes overall, which makes Messi’s passing numbers this term stand out even more.

Even given this season’s ‘vertical’ tactics, Messi has become more involved as a playmaker, particularly in the biggest games. For instance, against Manchester City at home in the Champions League last 16, Messi made 82 passes, more than any other player on either side.

Nobody really knows what Messi thinks about Luis Enrique's tweaking of Barca's style, and it appears that their January row was never fully resolved, just parked for the remainder of the season. Another long-serving blaugrana observer, Ramon Besa of El Pais, wrote on Monday that Messi's display was a sign that the two have agreed to put their differences aside in order for Barca to win trophies this season.

“The most obvious proof of the commitment of the Argentine is his performance against Valencia,” his Monday column said. “Messi acted as a ‘total footballer’.... helping the defence to get the ball away from Valencia’s pressure, lent a hand to the outnumbered midfield, and was decisive as a forward. The number 10 was a universal player in a difficult game for Barca, took the responsibility with a nod from his coach. The two need each other, without being fully together, knowing that the end justifies the means: they must win, and later argue over who gets the jackpot.”

On Saturday it looked like Luis Enrique's poorly selected midfield had landed his team in trouble. Messi sensed that Barca lacked an 'organiser' in the middle of the pitch – so he went and played that role brilliantly. He deserved his man of the match award even more than usual.

Where does this season rank among Messi's best in a Barcelona shirt? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below