Barcelona boss Luis Enrique claims it doesn’t matter where Lionel Messi plays – he will always be unstoppable. By his own astronomical standards, Messi endured a relatively quiet 2014, registering a relatively modest tally of seven goals in his team’s opening 11 league games this season.
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But he has exploded since leaving his old ‘false nine’ central striking role and moving onto the right wing, firing in 15 goals in nine La Liga starts this calendar year including a hat-trick in last weekend’s victory over Rayo Vallecano to move level with Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the scoring charts.
Many have attributed Messi’s return to his best to his new position cutting inside from the right, which has also seen him create seven goals for his team-mates – chiefly Luis Suarez and Neymar – since the turn of the year.
Lionel Messi has scored 365 goals and given 145 assists in the 400 games he started for Barcelona #fcblive [via @messistats]
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) March 13, 2015
Enrique, however, said: “When Leo Messi is in optimum condition, it doesn’t matter where you put him. You could put him at full back and he’d be unstoppable. There’s no secret – the only secret is him.”
Messi will attempt to maintain his scoring streak in this evening’s trip to Eibar, which could see Barca open up a four-point advantage over Real Madrid ahead of Los Blancos’ meeting with Levante tomorrow.
Enrique has cautioned against underestimating today’s Basque opposition, who have been thrown into a battle against relegation with a run of eight consecutive defeats.
Despite being the lowest-budget team in La Liga, Enrique believes Eibar will be competitive opponents on their home turf, adding: “Eibar are dangerous, both because of where we’re playing them and their need for points. Despite their recent defeats, they are having a good season and it certainly won’t be easy. They are hard workers and will make things tough for us.”
Enrique will be without suspended full-backs Dani Alves and Jordi Alba, with Adriano and Martin Montoya set for rare starts. He could also choose to leave out two more regular starters in the form of Javier Mascherano and Jeremy Mathieu, who are one yellow card away from suspension and could therefore miss next weekend’s Clasico clash with Madrid.
Meanwhile, a Spanish judge has upheld a tax fraud case against Barcelona’s current and ex-chairmen over the signing of Neymar, taking them a step closer to a possible trial.
Wrapping up his preliminary investigation, a judge at the National Court in Madrid ruled there were grounds for suspecting tax fraud by Barca’s chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu and predecessor Sandro Rosell and referred the case to the state prosecution service.
