Messi injury mars Barcelona victory
MADRID: Lionel Messi endured yet more injury frustration after going off at half-time against Villarreal but Barcelona gave their coach Ernesto Valverde some much-needed relief with a comfortable 2-1 victory. Messi received treatment in the first half for what looked like a problem with his left thigh and was then unable to continue after the interval, replaced by Ousmane Dembele on Tuesday.
His withdrawal will be a major concern for Barca, particularly given this was Messi’s first start of the season after just recovering from a niggling calf injury sustained at the start of August.
After the match, Valverde struck a note of calm. “When something happens to Messi, everyone stops, not only on the field, but in the stands as well,” he said.
“It is a small problem in the adductor and as a precaution we have decided not to risk it. In theory, it is nothing more but we will see tomorrow how it is.”
Barcelona visit Getafe in La Liga on Saturday before playing Inter Milan at home in the Champions League four days later. Certainly, they would have been eager to see Messi back in their line-up, having suffered a humbling 2-0 loss at newly-promoted Granada last weekend, a result that left them with seven points from five games, their worst start to a season since 1995.
They arrived at Camp Nou with doubts hovering, particularly over Valverde, but delivered a far more convincing win than the scoreline suggested, thanks to early goals from Antoine Griezmann, his third of the season, and Arthur Melo.
“We are still far from our best but with matches everything will improve,” said Griezmann.
On his own adaptation at Barcelona, he added: “It’s different. A different style of football, a different position. I knew it was going to be a challenge and it would take time.
“But I’m not too bad, right? Three goals. I can do better, yes, but I have to keep working.”
JUVENTUS WIN
MILAN: Mario Balotelli made his first start for Brescia but the promoted northeners still fell to a 2-1 defeat which sent champions Juventus top of Serie A.
Former Manchester City and Inter Milan striker Balotelli has returned to Italy to play for his hometown club, but his debut had been delayed as he sat out a fourgame suspension for previous club Marseille.
Juventus were without Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday, rested with a slight thigh problem, but the champions recovered from going behind after less than four minutes to an Alfredo Donnarumma goal — his fourth in five games.
Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny got two hands to Donnarumma’s powerful strike, but could only push the ball into the net.
Brescia defender Jhon Chancellor let the champions off the hook five minutes before the break, diverting the ball into his own goal, with Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic completing the comeback, volleying in on 63 minutes.
Juventus overtake Inter Milan at the top of the Serie A table with 13 points from five games. Antonio Conte’s side are one point behind before they host Lazio at the San Siro on Wednesday.
SPURS SHOCKED
LONDON: Tottenham’s disappointing start to the season hit a new low as they suffered an embarrassing League Cup third-round defeat on penalties at fourth-tier Colchester.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were held to a 0-0 draw in normal time before losing 4-3 on penalties against opponents currently 10th in League Two on Tuesday.
Christian Eriksen’s opening spot-kick was saved and Lucas Moura hit the crossbar before Tom Lapslie scored the winning penalty to spark a pitch invasion from Colchester’s jubilant fans.
It was the first time Tottenham manager Pochettino had been knocked out of a domestic cup competition against lower-league opposition.
The shock defeat extended Tottenham’s poor run, which included a 2-1 loss at Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday.