Lionel Messi looked remarkably sharp in Barcelona’s education before Saturday’s last attack on Napoli at camp Nou.
Barcelona showed their captain in action at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, casually passing Sergio Busquets before giving a grand finale against goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen.
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) August 2, 2020
The Catalan giants also showed how the Argentina international has been ruthless in front of goal in the build-up to the crucial match.
? @Beko pic.twitter.com/2VhN8hAgZ3
– FC Barcelona (since ?) (@fcbarcelona_fra) 1 August 2020
Messi probably wouldn’t have won the league champion’s medal this season with Barcelona, but won Pichichi, awarded to La Liga’s most sensible goalscorer, for the seventh time, a record. The Argentine also dominated the attendances rankings, setting a new La Liga record of 21 for an unmarried campaign.
The Barcelona captain can still finish the season with more titles if Barcelona lifts the European Cup for the sixth time this season. However, they will want the striker at his most productive time to be crowned European champion.
The Catalan giants face a deal against Naples on Saturday and are expected to face German champions Bayern Munich if they qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition.
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Naples coach Gennaro Gattuso is aware of the risk his team faces against Messi on Saturday. The Italian spoke to the press on Saturday about the difficulty of preventing the Argentine international.
“I can score Messi in my dreams. Or if I put the opposite Napoli to Barcelona on my son’s PlayStation, looking to catch him there while playing for Milan with 10 to 15 pounds less than today.”
The Serie A team finished their 2019–20 league crusade on Saturday with a 3–1 win over Lazio. However, the victory would probably have come at a price, as Captain Lorenzo Insigne expelled for injury.
Insigne seemed to cry when he left, but Gattuso said he hoped the injury would not be as serious as feared.
“Insignia has spoken to the doctor, we will compare it for the next 48 hours when we have the effects of the test. Let’s hope it’s not as bad as we think.”
The captain of Napoli has scored 12 goals and seven assists for the club this season in all competitions and on the court in Saturday’s victory over Lazio.
Napoli will return to Camp Nou on Saturday to savour the defeat on their trips to the Champions League this season. The Gattuso team tied with Liverpool and Genk at the organisational level and won at Red Bull Salzburg.
The Serie A team can take advantage of their record by taking on a blue team that has lost at the Camp Nou at a European festival since 2013. The Culés have played 35 matches without defeat in their own field since their relegation to Bayern Munich.
If Barcelona is looking for victory on Saturday, they will also know that a draw and a blank draw will be enough to progress. Antoine Griezmann’s goal as a visitor in the 1–1 draw in the first leg in Italy means that the Catalans have a slight merit in the draw.
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