[엑스포츠뉴스 김희웅 인턴기자] Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) also entered the competition for help.
Barsa beat Osasuna 2-0 in the 26th round of the Spanish Primera Liga in the 2020/21 season held at Estadio El Sadar in Osasuna, Spain at 5 am on the 7th. Barsa (56 points) closes the gap with lead Atletico Madrid (58 points).
Messi drove the team’s victory. In the 30th minute of tense 0-0, Messi punched an accurate roving pass at Jordi Alba, who was rushing into the box near the center circle. Alba cut the top of the net with a powerful left-footed shot even in the absence of an angle.
Added 1 more help in the second half. In the 38th minute of the second half, Messi delivered the ball to Elishi Moriba’s feet, with the defender back near the box. After Moriba beat a defender, he shook the corner of the net with an elaborate left-footed shot.
Messi, who added two assists, earned 6 assists in the league and started the race for the help king. It was tied for second in the assist category. There is only one difference from the top three. The three who earned 7 help were Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo), Jorge de Frutos (Levante), and Marcos Lorente (Atletico).
In fact, Messi excels in both scoring and assisting. In 2017/18 season 12, he was named at the top of the assist category by raising the help. The following season also earned 13 assists, ranking first. Last season, he scored 25 goals and 21 assists in the league, sweeping both the scorer and the assisting king at the same time.
However, this season, it was difficult to accumulate help. Rather than having Messi’s toes dull, the resolution of his colleagues caught the ankle. Messi often provided one-on-one chances with his unique roving pass, but his teammates’ ability to determine goals at the door was a problem.
Still, there is a strong reason for Messi’s help king this season as well. Messi has more key passes than anyone else in La Liga. With 2.2 key passes per game, Tony Kroos (Real Madrid) is the only one with an edge over Messi in this category. Kroos gave his teammates 2.5 key passes per game. Cross also earned 6 assists, so he could become Messi’s counter-horse.
At the beginning of this season, only the messages that had difficulty in accumulating attack points were listed at the top of the scoring and help categories. He has scored a total of 19 goals and is running first in the scoring category. This season as well, both the scoring and assisting kings are becoming more dominant.
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