Quique Setien Says Lionel Messi's Poor Goalscoring Form Is 'Not Important'

Barcelona manager Quique Setien has said he's not concerned by the recent form of Lionel Messi.

The forward has not found the net in six of his last seven matches and was ineffective on Sunday in the team's 2-0 loss to rivals Real Madrid. It was a defeat that sees Los Blancos lead the way by two points ahead of Barcelona going into the weekend's La Liga matches. 

Since Setien took over, the style of the team has shifted, as has the role of Messi. The manager said he's not worried about the blanks his star man has drawn as of late though, per Goal's Russell Greaves:

"I don't care that he didn't score recently. If he scored it would be better, but it has never bothered me. It could happen to Leo or anyone. He is having chances and that is the important thing, that chances are generated.

"He has been scoring goals for 14 years, if he now has a period in which he scores less it is not important."

Although Messi has failed to hit the back of the net in a number of games recently, in the one game he did score he struck on four occasions, helping Barcelona romp to a 5-0 win over Eibar:

However, his influence was diminished compared to his usual high standards in the Clasico. Squawka Football provided the numbers behind an afternoon to forget for the Barcelona captain:

Messi has been sensational for a long time at Barcelona, almost singlehandedly hauling the team to results on many occasions under previous boss Ernesto Valverde.

One of Setien's biggest challenges as manager will be relieving the 32-year-old of some of that burden, while ensuring he remains prolific in front of goal.

Under the new manager, Messi is picking up the ball in deeper areas, seeking to get Barcelona attacks moving. However, that's lessened the number of times he gets into goalscoring positions and the goals have dried up a little as such.

Per BR Football, even with the goals not flowing, Messi has still been able to provide a creative force and was recently recognised as La Liga's best player last month:

Rafael Hernandez of the Grup14 fan site said that despite those numbers, Messi hasn't reached his usual heights lately:

As Setien himself noted, Messi's goalscoring record is remarkable and it would be a shock if he didn't start to find the net with unerring frequency again soon.

What Barcelona require if they are to seriously challenge for the La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles is more from the rest of what is currently an underperforming squad. As of yet, Setien has struggled to get that reaction, as did his predecessor.