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Video Of Lionel Messi's 'Defending' Against Dynamo Kiev Is Quite Something

Video Of Lionel Messi's 'Defending' Against Dynamo Kiev Is Quite Something

Lionel Messi was just strolling about and waiting for the final whistle.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Pep Guardiola once described Lionel Messi as "the best defender in the world" but he didn't exactly live up to that statement late in the win over Dynamo Kiev last night.

Messi scored his fourth penalty of the current campaign in the 2-1 Champions League group stage win at the Nou Camp as Barcelona made it three wins out of three in the competition so far this season.

But the Argentine ace has gone viral following the emergence of a clip of him refusing to press Kiev defenders.

The short video sees Messi strolling about and making no effort to go after a Dynamo player as he carries the ball in the middle of the pitch.

It should be noted that this was literally right at the end of the game and a longer clip does show him getting a bit more of a jog on to chase the ball before the final whistle was blown.


Still, it's not exactly a great look for Messi given how vocal he was about wanting to leave Barcelona in the summer before he reluctantly agreed to stay put.

It's the polar opposite to what we saw from Arsenal midfielder Mo Elneny against Manchester United on Sunday. The Egyptian was scheming all over the place, displaying work-rate in abundance to win his side a throw-in during the latter stages of the 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

The walking from Messi is not anything new. In the 3-0 El Clasico win over Real Madrid in December 2017, it was said that he walked 83% of the five miles he covered in the game.

He still scored one and assisted another.

His former manager Ernesto Valverde has said that Messi often ignores the ball in the "first minutes" of each game, examining the opposition defenders by walking around them.

"As the game advances, he gets in little by little. But he knows perfectly where the rivals' weaknesses are." Valverde said.

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Topics: Football News, FC Barcelona, Football, Messi, Lionel Messi, Dynamo Kiev, Champions League