Player Rating

Lionel Messi: Player Rating and performance v PSG

Messi scored a penalty but was completely overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe as Barcelona's frailties defensively came to pass again

 
10:52pm on Tuesday 16th February 2021
By
Paul Macdonald

Lionel Messi watched yet another chance to win the Champions League almost certainly slip away as his side slid to a woeful home defeat to PSG.

The Argentine did get on the scoresheet from the spot early on but wasn't helped by a dreadful defensive showing in which Kylian Mbappe was simply brilliant.

Barcelona 1-4 PSG: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats

📷 Lionel Messi: Match Snapshot

Barcelona started the match positively and created early chances, particularly through Antoine Griezmann, but Messi was always on the edge of the action early on.

But it was his long raking pass which saw Frenkie De Jong fouled by Kurzawa, and the referee after consulting with VAR pointed to the spot.

⏱️ 27' Messi stepped up and lashed the penalty kick high into the top corner to give Keylor Navas absolutely no chance. .

But from that point on, it was another Champions League evening that Messi will want to forget. Mbappe ran riot against the defence, netting a hat-trick and could have even scored more.

Messi, meanwhile, seemed to admit defeat. He knows this team aren't even close to good enough and if ever a single result could make up his mind that his future lies elsewhere, this could be it.

〽️ Lionel Messi: Rating Week-on-Week

REGRESSION

Messi's two goals and an assist against Alves at the weekend earned him a Perfect 10 FC Rating, but here, just as his team's performance regressed, so did his, to a 7.4 FC Rating.

🗝️ Key Stats

Lionel Messi match stats

StatisticValueNotes
FC Rating7.4
Mins Played90
Goals1
Shots2
Shots on Target1
Touches in the box3

Messi: What Next?

That is the big question. Barcelona have been absolutely humiliated in Europe once again by a team so obviously much better than them in every department.

The team needs huge investment but it's not going to get it. And Messi needs to have a long think about his future. He has a finite time remaining, and he's wasting it at a Barcelona team in a downturn which, given their financial predicament, could be permanent.

Barcelona 1-4 PSG: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats

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