If he takes care of his statistics in the Champions League, with five goals scored in six games, Lionel Messi is much less flamboyant in Ligue 1, where he has scored only twice. Far from its Barcelona standards, “la Pulga” seems in difficulty in a championship where the physical dimension is sometimes underestimated. The trip to Nantes, Saturday February 19 at 9 p.m., will perhaps help him get back on track after a very average performance against Real Madrid in C1 on Tuesday.
After 14 games played in Ligue 1, Leo Messi has only two goals on the clock. However, the Argentinian tries his luck: he has shot 51 times since his arrival. But his shots rarely put opposing goalkeepers in difficulty since only 29% are on target, and 4% end up in the back of the net. By way of comparison, the other Parisian star, Kylian Mbappé, has scored 37% of his 89 attempts since the start of the season, for 12 goals scored (13.5%).
This change of status within the Parisian attack, where he is not the only jewel, could he explain the poor form of the Argentinian? “Maybe the system revolved around him in Barcelona, the team played for him, and in Paris it’s not the case. But that doesn’t explain everything”, comments Eric Roy, consultant for France Télévisions. The former player, then coach of Nice, no longer recognizes the sevenfold Ballon d’Or: “We no longer find the player he was at all, both in terms of stats, his grip on matches, his ability to be decisive, to scare the opponent… With his current form, before a penalty like against Real, we wonder if he will score it, whereas a few months ago, we did not ask ourselves the question “.
The psychological factor could be taken into account to justify the inconstancy of Leo Messi, uprooted after more than 20 years at Barcelona. “Changing clubs after so many years is always complicated, we understand that. But he feels better and better”however assured the president of PSG, Nasser al-Khelaïfi, at the microphone of Canal+ on Tuesday.
With Ligue 1, the Argentinian also discovered a new Championship, deemed more physical than La Liga. “From the outside, people think that the L1 is weak, but there is actually a very important athletic and tactical dimension, which makes games complicated, even against so-called ‘weak’ but well-organized teams. Then Messi is now 34 years old, he is on a downward slope, it is something immutable”, analyzes Eric Roy.
And if Messi scores less, he has not been helped by the posts either, which he has already touched seven times this season. Less “killer” against the cages, he remains decisive thanks to the eight assists he has delivered in Ligue 1, including one in each of his last three games. Enough to restore his confidence against FC Nantes?