Maestro Messi scoring four goals isn’t news anymore, says Barca coach
MADRID: Lionel Messi’s fourgoal masterclass in the 6-1 demolition of Eibar on Tuesday was warmly welcomed by Ernesto Valverde but held little surprise for the Barcelona coach.
The clinical Argentine Messi now has 11 goals in his last five games in all competitions and with record signing Ousmane Dembele injured and Luis Suarez rested, he put on a sensational show at Camp Nou to extend Barcelona’s La Liga lead.
“From a move where it looks like nothing is going to happen, he can create something good for us and bad for the opposition,” Valverde told reporters.
“Him scoring four goals isn’t news anymore. He’s done this time and time again, on many nights and in many games. He repeats it, he repeats it and he repeats it.”
Having coached Athletic Bilbao before joining Barcelona, Valverde has faced Messi multiple times, but for summer signing Nelson Semedo, experiencing the Argentine’s magic live is a relatively new sensation.
“Game by game he surprises us, there are no words for him,” said the Portuguese right back, who won the penalty which Messi converted for his first goal of the night in the 21st minute.
Messi’s second was a remarkably accurate finish inside Marko Dmitrovic’s far post just before the hour mark, while Paulinho played him in to stab home his hat-trick just three minutes later.
Barcelona’s rout was completed when Messi played a one-two with Aleix Vidal and tucked home in the 87th minute past the despairing Dmitrovic.
“He’s one of the most intelligent players I’ve seen on a football pitch. He’s extraordinary,” Valverde added on Movistar.
Denis Suarez, who scored and set up Paulinho with a corner for Barcelona’s second goal of the night, said: “Messi makes everything easy, he’s the best in the world, nobody has any doubt of that.
“I hope we can have him for a lot of time.”
Despite losing Neymar in the summer to Paris St. Germain, suffering frustration in the transfer market and seeing president Josep Maria Bartomeu’s reign questioned, Messi’s virtuoso displays have kept Barcelona top of the table with a 100 percent record.
Messi heads the Pichichi chart of La Liga’s top scorers with nine goals, while Cristiano Ronaldo was set to return for Real Madrid last night against Real Betis after his fivematch domestic suspension.
Meanwhile Real’s France forward Karim Benzema has signed a new contract at the club, which includes a one billion euro ($1.2 billion) buyout clause, according to local media reports.
Spanish and European champions Real announced yesterday that Benzema had signed a three-year extension to his current deal, which was due to expire at the end of next season, taking him through to 2021.
Benzema follows in the footsteps of teammates Marcelo, Isco and Dani Carvajal, who have all penned new deals over the past two weeks containing clauses designed to avoid a repeat of the Neymar situation experienced by Barcelona.
Real’s rivals Barca were caught off-guard when Paris St Germain triggered the 222 million euro buyout clause in Neymar’s contract, which paved the way for the Brazil forward to move to the French club last month.
By law, contracts in Spain must feature a buyout clause and Madrid have moved to ensure their top players’ deals contain unattainably high clauses.
AS reported that Benzema’s buyout clause now matches teammate Ronaldo’s.
Benzema’s new deal means the forward, who is sidelined with a hamstring problem, is set to spend over a decade at Madrid, where he has been a regular first choice since joining in 2009.
He has made 247 La Liga appearances for Real, netting 122 goals, and is the third-highest scorer currently active in the Champions League behind Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Reuters