Lionel Messi Still Not Human Despite Barcelona Penalty Miss, Says Luis Enrique

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique does not believe Lionel Messi's penalty miss on Sunday makes him any more human after the Argentine put on yet another other-worldly display in the 4-1 La Liga victory over Levante.

Messi scored twice and provided an assist against Levante, his first goal of the night coming from a penalty. But he skied an effort from the spot with 14 minutes remaining, his 17th penalty miss from 81 career attempts, per Goal.com's Ben Hayward.

When asked after the match whether Messi's relatively average penalty record made him more human, Enrique rejected the suggestion, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan: "To miss penalties does not make Messi human. Then he scores two goals and gives an assist. There is very little human about Messi."

Messi's second goal of the night was a typically astonishing effort which saw him weave through a number of Levante defenders before firing home a fine finish.

Given that he produces such stunning goals so regularly, his issues with penalty-taking seem all the more bizarre, per Hayward:

Enrique rang the changes for Sunday's Camp Nou clash with Les Granotes following tough matches against Atletico Madrid and Roma.

Barca struggled initially and they headed into the break at 0-0. But they found their rhythm in the second half, with Neymar and Marc Bartra the other goalscorers alongside Messi.

Fortunately for the Catalan giants, Messi's penalty miss had little bearing on the outcome of the match. Indeed, only once previously has the 28-year-old missing from the spot had an effect on a Barca result, per football writer Rafael Hernandez:

However, it is certainly an oddity that, arguably, the world's best player seemingly struggles so much when he has only the goalkeeper to beat from the penalty spot.

No player has a worse record from 12 yards than Messi in La Liga in the last decade, per Opta:

Unsurprisingly, though, Enrique is clearly not that bothered about Messi's penalty record.

Given that his contribution to Barca is so immense elsewhere, he can be forgiven for occasionally missing from the spot, especially when it has no bearing on the outcome of the match.