Lionel Messi is the definition of a complete player and he showed that again last night in the 2-1 Copa Del Rey quarter final second leg win over Catalan rivals Espanyol at the Nou Camp.
The Argentine ace scored the second goal as Barca set-up a semi-final showdown with Valencia, but he was heavily involved in the build-up to both goals - as he often is.
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For Suarez's opener nine minutes in, he robbed the visitors of possession, danced past a couple of defenders and fed the ball out wide to Aleix Vidal, who whipped in a belter of a cross for Barca's No.9 to nod home.
The second goal, scored by Messi in the 25th minute, took a wicked deflection but it was all down to Messi's persistence to regain possession.
Pressing and defending from the front is a key principle for Barcelona and Messi does it brilliantly. As technically gifted as the five-time Ballon d'Or is, his work-rate and desperation to win the ball back straight away is highly commendable.
Messi's strike last night was the 4000th Barcelona goal at the Nou Camp since the Blaugrana moved in back in 1957. Remarkably, despite only playing 14 years at the ground, he has scored 7.7 per cent of Barca's goal on their home patch.
Moreover, if you throw his Nou Camp assists in the mix, his goal contribution percentage rises to 10 per cent, which is simply sensational.
It's too bad, he's too good.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Nou Camp, FC Barcelona, Football, Lionel Messi, Argentina, Copa del Rey, La Liga
