Without Messi, Barcelona Are Still Tough

DBasia.news – Barcelona silenced Inter Milan with a 2-0 score in the third matchday of Group B Champions League at Camp Nou Stadium. Barcelona could perform impressively and achieved the victory despite the absence of their star, Lionel Messi.

Barcelona dominated the match against Inter Milan. Gerard Pique and friends released 21 efforts and 11 of them targetted to the net. Meanwhile, Inter Milan just created 9 shots and 2 met the target.

Barcelona also won the ball possession. Ernesto Valverde squad scored 68 percent ball possession compared to 32 percent.

Rafina brought El Barca led at 32′ after his kick couldn’t be anticipated by Samir Handanovic. Entering the 73′, Jordi Alba brought Barcelona further after releasing the shot to the right corner of the net.

Seeing the statistic and score, Barcelona are still strong despite the absence of Lionel Messi. In fact, so far La Pulga is Barcelona’s inspiration for victory.

Opta released the data supporting this hypothesis. According to Opta, Barcelona won 20 of 26 Champions League matches without Messi on the pitch. Meanwhile, the other 6 matches ended draw and 4 defeats.

Due to this victory, Barcelona lead the table with 9 points. Meanwhile, La Beneamata are in the runner-up with 6 points.