Lionel Messi has assisted Barcelona’s last 5 goals

Photo by Fran Santiago/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

He also has directly contributed to 9 of the 11 scored goals under Setién while he is on the pitch

Lionel Messi got a hat trick of assists as FC Barcelona came back against Real Betis to win 3-2 last weekend. It wasn’t unusual to see as the Argentine has been contributing to a high proportion of Barcelona’s goals for a long time, although not always at this level.

Messi has assisted the past 5 goals scored by the Catalans. Three were against Betis, and two were to Ansu Fati in Barcelona’s 2-1 won over Levante.

In addition, he scored the only goal in Barça’s 1-0 win over Granada, meaning the Argentine has scored or assisted all of Barcelona’s goals in La Liga since the appointment of Quique Setién and the injury to Luis Suárez.

He also scored twice and assisted once in Barcelona’s Copa del Rey victory over Leganés.

Messi has played every game under Setién except for one, against lower-league Ibiza in the cup. But in the matches he has starred in, Barça have scored 11 goals. Of those, he has assisted 6 and scored 3, meaning he has directly contributed to 9 of the 11.

Without Luis Suárez, the Catalans will need a big lift from Messi, and scoring contributions from many sources. Both were true against Betis, when Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, and Clément Lenglet scored off of Messi assists.

Source: barcablaugranes.com