So far this season, Messi has contributed 8 goals and 13 assists in all competitions at Paris Saint-Germain, which is not bad, but it is also a bit far from everyone's expectations.
However, there is another stat to pay special attention to, Messi has already been ruled invalid for 7 goals + 13 shots in the frame. With a little bit of luck, Messi could even add 20 goals. Especially against Marseille, the second in Ligue 1, Messi is so close and far from 2 goals and 1 assist.
01. Messi found the goal code: he should have been a little bit less lucky
In Pochettino's plan, Paris' current trident should be through Mbappe's move, leaving room for Neymar and Messi to follow up. However, this will also weaken Mbappe's scoring opportunities, and the Frenchman's execution is not stable in actual combat.
Messi's ability to score in the front of the back depends on whether the forward teammates are willing to push up space for him, otherwise they will have to insert themselves into the box without the ball.
There are often unreasonable positions in the Paris formation, such as this time the positions of Neymar and Mbappe overlap. But because both of them like to pick up the ball on the left, mbappe, as a centre-forward, doesn't seem to have much to choose from when he wants to lean on the left.
However, in this way, when the opponent is heavily concentrated on the left rib of Paris, if someone on the right side suddenly inserts himself, it will actually be a good opportunity.
Messi wants to continue his playing style at Barca, after all, Mbappe's habit is to take the ball first, rather than taking the ball with no one. Even if Mbappe wanted to assist Messi, it was still he who sped up and returned the pass.
Messi has to catch the ball at high speed, rather than observing the space in the past and following up the reception.
After more than half a year of training, Messi seems to be used to the way of playing in Ligue 1. It's hard to shoot a shot with the ball here, and in the past few years, only Neymar has been able to carry the ball all the way through the defense and score goals at the same time, in exchange for his constant encounter with rough fouls.
However, Ligue 1 defenders have a disadvantage, that is, the defense of players who do not have the ball is weak. This time Messi had a good retraction and then inserted forward, receiving Verratti's pass to get a one-handed chance. Unfortunately, after scoring, he was blown offside.
Before this goal, Messi had another beautiful shot on goal that was ruled invalid. The biggest highlight came from this time when entering the penalty area to meet, Messi suddenly accelerated to meet, showing a strong ability to get rid of the defense without the ball.
In fact, Messi's ballless movement has advantages in flexibility and frequency of action, and it is not easy for opponents to really want to limit. If Messi is willing to try more such no-ball follow-ups, the number of goals will also rise quickly.
This time Neymar's straight plug was beautiful, but unfortunately Mendes was slightly offside and the goal was cancelled. So far this season, Messi has had seven goals cancelled and another 13 shots on the frame of the goal, which is really unlucky.
02. Not many shots but better chances: Messi may not be far from more goals
In this game, from the post-match statistics, Messi only shot a total of 1 shot, which is not contradictory to his closer to scoring goals.
With more no-ball movement, Messi got more opportunities to shake off defenders and find a way to score in Ligue 1.
Messi's no-ball follow-up is very distinctive, usually using his dribbling and passing advantages, first attracting defense and then dividing the ball, and then using his spatial insight to find opportunities.
In the last round of Ligue 1, Messi contributed an assist hat-trick, but also had a beautiful header. Unfortunately, mbappe, who split the flank this time, was slightly offside, resulting in this header being invalidated.
In the last 9 games, Messi's statistics are not bad, contributing 2 goals and 9 assists. However, in these 9 games, he has shot a total of 23 times on goal, averaging less than 2.5 shots per game.
Messi is trying to transform the passer on the one hand, and on the other hand, he is also looking for more possibilities to score goals.
03. When Paris lost power in the second half: Messi still created a threat
In the second half of the match, the two teams only shot a total of 2 shots on goal, especially 0 shots from Paris at home, which was somewhat embarrassing.
However, when the team's offensive end suddenly lost power, Messi was still the person who made the most threats on the offensive end of the team.
This time Messi's beautiful pass found Mbappe, and if the latter is willing to cross, Neymar is the absolute chance to seal the victory early.
In the second half, one of the most exciting offensive moments was that Messi turned around in front of the box this time and plunged into the crowd, but suddenly sent a wonderful pass to mbappe in the empty position, allowing the latter to score.
Unfortunately, this time the goal was blown offside, making Messi's 2 goals and 1 assist become a mirror flower moon.
Messi's attack this time, he can pass the ball to Ashraf, but choose to turn around and plunge into the left side of the pile. Messi's choice in the game is difficult to judge by whether ordinary people are reasonable or not.
It should be said that Messi will make such a decision, or it is related to his personal ability.
However, in Ligue 1, it is really not easy to score again, and it is not easy for Messi to assist. Obviously, if you want to score more goals, you still have to increase the number of no-ball interludes.
In any case, Messi has now scored 8 goals and 13 assists, not far from the season double-doubles.
Conclusion:
Ruled invalid for offside and other reasons, coupled with a shot that hit the goal frame, Messi has been linked to 20 goals this season. Perhaps what Messi needs to do is adjust his mentality and wait for the moment when his luck improves.
In the next Ligue 1, will Messi be so unlucky? When Neymar was suspended, the team's attack clearly needed some new changes.