A case of Messi-dependence
Lionel Messi failed to fire up his side and take them through to the semifinals of the Champions League as they were defeated by AS Roma 3-0.
Barca have been ousted in the quarterfinal stage of the competition four times in the last five years. They fell out of the last 16 stage three times in the last three years and the last time Barca won the competition was in 2014/15 season. Messi disappeared against AS Roma in the second leg of the quarterfinal tie and Barca looked uninspired without their talisman firing in all cylinders.
A soul searching began and Catalan newspaper Diario Sport said: "Barca spent the whole game waiting for a miracle from Messi.
"So often he is able to hide their weaknesses. But it didn't arrive this time.
"The most unbearable thing about the elimination is that another Champions League now escapes Barca in the Messi era, a sin which exponentially multiplies the sensation of failure."
It can be argued that Messi has been dragging Barcelona for a long time, as the club have fallen below their standards when it comes to developing players for the future while their footballing ideals remain grey in the face of managerial changes that did not exactly tune themselves to the club’s ideology of attacking football.
Messi has not scored in the quarterfinal stage since 2013 and Barca have lost quarterfinal ties against numerous oppositions – 2014/15 being the only exception as Luis Suarez and Neymar carried some of the scoring burden.
An incredible statistic if one bothered to find out about Barca’s attacking problems is the fact that Suarez has scored only once in the Champions League this season. Messi has scored six. Barca’s next best scorer? Own goals, with five to its name.
Soul searching in the media have led to questions whether Barca are destroying Messi’s legacy. While Messi may not always play at his best, Barca have not been able to find answers when he has not provided one.
What ‘multiplies the sensation of failure’ for the media and the fans is the Messi is one of the very best football has had to offer and yet in his era, Barca have failed to dominate the Champions League ever since Pep Guardiola left the club. In that time Real Madrid have won three Champions League titles and are on course to make it four since 2013/14 and three on the trot.
Messi sat out two international friendlies for Argentina following a hamstring issue. It might have been the case that he did not produce what everyone expects of him because he was not totally fit during the Roma match. While that may not stop his detractors, the argument can still be made that Barca paid for an overdose on Messi-dependence.
La Liga is already won thanks predominantly to Messi’s supreme performances but Barca have been found lacking in the European Circuit. Messi has been directly involved in 50 percent of Barca’s La Liga goals, scoring 29 and assisting 12. His footprint can be found in numerous other goals.
“A Barca side that have been carried by Messi this season and when he hasn't acted as a genius, everything's gone downhill. Everything. Luckily La Liga is already won,” Diario Sport wrote.