Barcelona manager Guardiola has said that he is certainly not worried about the poor form shown by Lionel Messi in the last few matches. Lionel Messi was simply sensational only a few weeks ago when he scored 18 goals in just 11 league matches for the club.
It helped them close the gap on leaders Real Madrid to just four points when it seemed that the Los Blancos appeared to run away with the title after opening a 13 point advantage at the top of the table.
However, Lionel Messi has not scored in the last two matches against Chelsea and Real Madrid. The 2-1 loss at the hands of Real Madrid in the latest El Clasico also meant that Barcelona have almost certainly surrendered the league title to their arch rivals.
Speaking ahead of the match with Chelsea at the Camp Nou, Guardiola said that he is not worried about the poor form of Messi. He also said that just because Messi has scored more than 60 goals this season, people expect him to score every match and it is simply not possible for a player. The Argentine has scored 63 goals in all competitions for Barcelona this season. He is only a few goals away from creating a world record for the most number of goals scored in one single season.
“I never allow myself to be concerned about Messi. Not even if he doesn’t score for 27 matches. I give him tranquillity and the right to not have to score goals until he wants to. He’s scored a brutal amount of goals this season. Let him play, be happy and be who he’s always been. His ambition helps us all,” Guardiola said at the Barcelona press conference ahead of the Chelsea match. Chelsea come in with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.