Messi is ‘just extraordinary,’ says Valverde

The captain was in sublime form on Saturday

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde was full of praise for Lionel Messi after his stunning display against Espanyol on Saturday night.

The captain was almost unplayable at times against Espanyol, and Valverde offered his view in his post-match press conference.

“Messi is just extraordinary. The two goals, the chances created and what he gives us, he is extraordinary,” he said.

”I think it was a good game in general. We knew about the danger of Espanyol, especially at home, and they are a team that, aside from the last game, had won all of their matches here.

”We wanted to dominate and little by little, we managed to do that and I think the 3-0 [at half-time] reflected how the match went.

”But I don’t think that was our best [45 minutes of the year]. We were also great against Real Madrid.”

Source | Marca

The win means Barcelona are now three points clear of Sevilla and Atletico Madrid at the top of the table.

Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia, Atletico beat Alaves 3-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Source: barcablaugranes.com