Lionel Messi Ready for Man City Clash While Paco Alcacer Still Struggles
THE CAMP NOU, Barcelona — Lionel Messi made it look so easy, Paco Alcacer so very hard.
Back from his groin injury, it took just three minutes for the Argentinian maestro to find the net, brought on with around 35 minutes to go, with Barcelona 3-0 up on Deportivo La Coruna.
A superb no-look pass from Neymar put Messi in on goal, and the Argentinian nonchalantly blazed a shot past German Lux and into the top corner for Barcelona’s fourth and final goal.
Messi turned away to celebrate marking his return to action for the first time since September 21 with a goal.
He was taken off against Atletico Madrid with a groin problem, missing Barcelona and Argentina fixtures as he aimed to recover in time to face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on Wednesday night in the UEFA Champions League.
The doctors and Messi hoped he would be back in time to feature for a short period from the bench against Deportivo, and he made it, with the Galician side feeling the full effect of his presence.
Messi’s strike was surprisingly his 20th from the bench in La Liga, making him the fifth-highest scorer in the Spanish top flight as a substitute. Top is Julio Salinas, on 28.
After his goal Messi scampered around, probing for gaps, with few signs of his near-monthlong absence on show.
Sport's Lluis Mascaro crowed that in just three minutes, Messi had struck fear into Manchester City's heart. He wrote:
"The Argentine came on to gather momentum ahead of the City game following 25 days out of action with a groin injury. There was enough evidence in his first three minutes to show that a little Messi is a lot. A lot. In those three minutes, he will also have struck fear into Pep Guardiola’s City. A City who dropped points at home to Everton this weekend.
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Someone City won’t be afraid of is Alcacer. The former Valencia striker has yet to find the net for Barcelona, and he spurned three superb chances to break his duck against Deportivo.
The forward is getting into the right positions, as evidenced by the quality of the opportunities he had on Saturday afternoon.
Alcacer’s third chance was his best, dribbling a shot wide of the far post from close range with the goal at his mercy. His first chance was tipped on to the post by Depor’s goalkeeper, who also blocked his second. When your Lux out, your Lux out.
Manager Luis Enrique was indifferent to Alcacer's inability to find the net and praised the summer signing after the game. He said in his press conference:
"Forwards want to score however possible. He didn’t have any luck today. The good thing is he’s [scoring] in training, and it would worry me if he wasn’t getting chances.
Suarez struggled as well [to score his first goal]. The goal will arrive naturally. I like the reaction of the supporters [to his misses] and [how] focused he was in order to find those chances.
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The comparison to Suarez is fair, although the Uruguayan had been ostracised by the FIFA sanction that prevented him from even training with his team-mates for a while.
Alcacer will likely come good. He is a fine forward and must simply keep himself as sharp as possible, waiting for more chances to come along.
Meanwhile, Ivan Rakitic spoke in the mixed zone and also defended Alcacer, even though he’s still seeking his first goal six games to his Barcelona career.
“He needs to be left in peace," said the Croatian. "The most important thing is he’s getting the chances. He’ll get some luck in no time and start scoring.”
It is unlikely he will feature against City, though, with Suarez hauled off at half-time for Alcacer on Saturday to keep the Uruguayan fresh to take on visitors who seem to have a soft centre.
Suarez played brilliantly for his country during the international break, and his sublimely taken goal for Barcelona on Saturday made him joint-top scorer in La Liga, level on six goals with Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann despite not yet hitting his individual best form.
He took a lovely pass from Neymar perfectly, with a velvet first touch that nudged the ball into the perfect position for him to stroke past Lux to send Barcelona three goals up.
Luis Enrique’s decision to take Suarez off went in line with his other calls to protect his team ahead of the Manchester City game.
Captain Andres Iniesta was left on the bench after playing twice for Spain during the international break, while the team went 3-4-3, as they did against Leganes.
The coach has received criticism for this, but with each game he deploys the formation, his team naturally becomes more comfortable in it.
It may never be a viable option for a big game, partly due to the success Lucho has enjoyed with 4-3-3, but the coach refused to rule out using it against City.
He said, per Sport: "Our centre-backs are quick, and I don’t rule out any option [against City]. We played with a back three against Paris Saint-Germain before. What’s certain, though, is that I will not give away what we will do."
While it has in the past seemed City are more preoccupied with stopping Barcelona when they come to Camp Nou, it should be different under Guardiola.
The former Blaugrana boss has never been one to play defensively because of a tough opponent, and he will look to the likes of Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne—both of whom missed penalties as City drew 1-1 with Everton on Saturday—to damage Barcelona at the back.
Gerard Pique continued his fine form against Deportivo, while both Javier Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu were faultless alongside him. Samuel Umtiti is fit again too, so Luis Enrique will have a tough decision over his centre-back pairing to try and stop City.
Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto, the usual full-backs, are both hoping to be fit for the clash. If they don’t make it, then Lucas Digne would be comfortable filling in for the former on the left, just as he did on Saturday, albeit as a wing-back.
Surprisingly, Arda Turan played on the opposite flank as a right wing-back against Deportivo and did a decent job—it’s a role he played toward the start of his career while at Manisaspor.
Aleix Vidal has been frozen out, not included for the seventh game in a row despite Roberto’s injury. If Luis Enrique can be faulted for anything in the Depor game, it is this. Even if he doesn’t think Vidal is at the right level to play for the team, leaving him out entirely seems a questionable decision, both for the player’s morale and that of those who are close to him in the dressing room.
Lucho has shown over the past three years that man management isn’t one of his biggest strengths, although he is improving on that front. In most other sectors, the coach is excelling.
Now he goes head-to head with Guardiola once again, the coach he bettered when Bayern Munich came to the Camp Nou in 2015.
It was Messi who settled that Champions League semi-final tie with a brilliant brace, and the Argentinian is back just in time to see his old friend Pep.
Rik Sharma is Bleacher Report's lead Barcelona correspondent. All information and quotes obtained firsthand unless specified. Follow him on Twitter here: @riksharma_.
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