Valverde: Messi always surprises you!

Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde admits “just when you think you’ve seen everything from Lionel Messi, he surprises you” after his display against Girona.

Messi scored twice and laid off Luis Suarez for Barca’s equaliser during their 6-1 hammering of Girona, and Valverde struggled for superlatives when describing the No 10’s performance.

“It’s been an important week,” the Coach told Movistar Partidazo after the game.

“Girona came in from a great run of form. We started badly, but luckily we replied quickly. They pressed up high, and as soon as we surpassed that early pressure, we had chances to score.

“Messi? It’s hard to get used to the things he does. Just when you think you’ve seen everything from Messi, he surprises you, like his free kick, which looked easy but was very difficult to execute.

“He’s a player who has and feels responsibility towards the team, and he assumed it when we were faced with their early pressure.

“Coutinho and Dembele? Both players can help us. Coutinho’s a player who works well inside and can shoot from outside.

“Dembele is a wider and younger player. He’s had problems with injuries, meaning his period of adaptation was skipped.

“Now we’re in the most complicated part of the season.”

Tags Ernesto Valverde Lionel Messi
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