The euphoria over PSG’s victory over Real Madrid in the Round of 16 in the Champions League this week is yet to die down. The Parisian club, currently, stands within striking distance of laying its hand on the coveted trophy. However, things are not going to be easy for the star-studded PSG lineup from now on as it is bound to face stiff resistance from rival teams, especially the “merciless” Man City. For the Pochettino’s side, the worrying aspect will be the form of one of their recent prized possessions: Argentine Legend Lionel Messi.
The Penalty Miss That Could Have Proved Costly
Everyone who saw the encounter knows that the French striker Kylian Mbappe’s late strike in the crucial tie against Real Madrid literally sealed the match in favour of the PSG, but they would also be aware of Messi’s struggle in the match. Within 61 minutes into the game, the legendary player got a very good chance to score for the PSG via a penalty but it was eventually thwarted by the rival keeper Thibaut Courtois. We can go on and on about Courtois’ gallantry save but it cannot be denied that all is not well with Messi.
An Unwanted Record For Messi
Courtesy of the miss, the Argentine has joined the undesirable list of most number of misses (23) in the UEFA Champions League history along with Thierry Henry. If we could somehow sweep the miss under the carpet it would be hard to ignore the ordinary existence of the star striker since his return to Paris last year. The Club had hoped for something spectacular with regard to its fortunes when it got Messi from Spain to team up with Neymar and Mbappe. But the returns have so far been anything but great.
Decoding The Brilliant Save
“In these kinds of games you know that, as a goalkeeper, you’re going to have quite a bit to do. I’d studied Messi’s penalties a lot and I tried to play with him when I was on the line. You’ve also got to have that little bit of luck, too,” said goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who nullified Messi’s strike in the match.
Problem of Adaptability For The Argentine
It is a well-known fact that after bidding an emotional farewell to his favourite club Barcelona, Messi is yet to hit the straps in Paris. Everyone expected him to breach the defence of the rival teams with ease, considering the legacy surrounding his game thus far. On the contrary, the 7-time Ballon D’or winner has looked more like a chance creator than a prolific goal scorer. Just one out of the six goals he scored this season came in Ligue 1 and he has had 5 assists to his credit so far. So, is it a worrying sign for the Paris-based club?
Benzema’s Take On Messi’s Average Run
“It is just a period of adaptation because he is not scoring a lot of goals….But watch what he does on the pitch,” said Karim Benzema, signalling that there is nothing wrong with Messi’s approach towards the game and the dry spell is ephemeral. “In any case, you cannot criticise a player like that, he who criticises Messi, knows nothing about football in fact,” signs off the Real Madrid striker by being dismissive of naysayers.
Detractors Pitch In As Well
However, former England player Gary Linekar was blunt when he said: “Messi is 35 in June. Ronaldo has just turned 37. We should probably lower our expectations. They still do wonderful things, but not even these footballing Gods can defy father time forever.”
Last But Not The Least
Interestingly, even the Portuguese superstar endured a goal-less period for a while which he broke only recently. So, Messi is not alone. Anyway, Ronaldo’s case is totally different as the Man United striker has changed several clubs before ending up lately with Manchester United. Whereas Messi spent the majority of his time with Barca before coming to PSG in 2021, so the argument of adapting to the new culture and people etc really holds water.
Also, it cannot be denied that nobody can remain impervious to the law of averages and several legendary footballers have in the past gone through rough patches in their careers, be it Maradona or Pele or Platini. Hence, for the time being, let us hope that once the transitional phase gets over the world will be able to witness the Argentine striker in full glory. Fingers crossed.
