Lionel Messi is often the easiest scapegoat at Barcelona when things begin to go wrong, according to boss Ronald Koeman.
The Dutchman was speaking two days after his side crashed to a 2-1 defeat at newly-promoted Cadiz, meaning they have won just two of their last eight La Liga matches and have lost four times in that timeframe.
As highlighted in a report by ESPN, Messi has had 10 shots on goal in two different games this campaign in which he has failed to score – October’s 1-1 draw at Alaves and the weekend 2-1 loss at Cadiz – while no other player in Europe’s top five leagues has had that many shots in a game without finding the net this season.
The Messi news does not come at an ideal time for the club and is amid the star being in the final year of his contract at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona news has subsequently been dominated by criticism over the team’s performances but Koeman insists that the main area where they must improve is defensive organisation, rather than in the final third.
Koeman explained to reporters, as per Marca: “What I want is to have communication with Leo about things in the game, about things that happen in certain games. As with any player or captain.
“You don’t have to put energy into outside issues. As a coach I always have to look for the maximum performance from each player. Leo is very important in our attack, many of our attacks come through him.
“In that sense I agree with him that he is the easiest culprit many times. I do not think he made mistakes. This is a matter for the whole team, where defensively we have to be more aggressive. In some games we have not been effective enough.”