No more fancy finishes – Lionel Messi needs to be more ruthless in front of goal if he is to repeat his heroics against Arsenal

There are very, very few superlatives left to describe Lionel Messi. The Barcelona wizard has set the bar so ludicrously high so early in his career that every microscopic flaw or mistake that he makes is put under the spotlight and accentuated tenfold.

More and more frequently this season we have heard the words ‘he is human after all’ when Messi would only ripple the side netting, or cradle the ball onto the roof of the net, rather than in the back of it. Is there a slither of weakness that is beginning to show in the Argentine’s game?

‘El Mesias’ scored two of his best goals last season – among many – against  Valencia and Zaragoza in back-to-back league games, ironically two teams that Barca meet in succession again this week.

Things, however, have been very different this campaign. As opposition defenders kick it up a notch, Messi has found it increasingly difficult to score the outrageous, sublime individual goals. Not only that, he has also been guilty of missing some gilt-edge chances. But unlike other strikers, he doesn’t spurn them by blazing the ball wildly into the stands, or miscuing his shot onto the corner flag. He misses them by being too grandiose.

The slender midweek win over Valencia was a prime example. Messi had more chances in that game than in most other encounters, and the most glaring miss of all was when he attempted a cheeky chip over Guaita in a one-on-one when he could so easily have slotted the ball past him. And this came after three shots in rapid-fire succession were denied by the goalkeeper and defender Ricardo Costa.

Those missed opportunities left Barca slogging away for a victory before Messi eventually dispatched Adriano’s pull-back 13 minutes from time with the kind of simple, clinical finish that he should be applying every time he has a clear sight on goal.

You could argue that he can afford to be a bit lackadaisical when you consider the amount of chances Barcelona will create every game. But it doesn’t always pan out that way, especially against the big teams in the important games.

Against Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League two weeks ago, Barca only had five attempts on target, two of which were chances that Messi spurned when he dinked a shot past Wojciech Szczesny which trickled just wide, and another which he smacked into the side of the net.

Those aren’t the first and only examples either of ‘Little Lionel’ being just a tad too casual. He missed a lazy penalty against Panathinaikos in the Champions League earlier in the season after he had already netted twice, and he also skied a spotkick John Terry-style in the Copa del Rey against Real Betis after Barca had won the first leg 5-0.

Is this Messi’s weakness? Falling for the temptation to carve his name into another chapter of football’s history books by attempting to score the greatest goal ever to be scored?

If it is, you can’t blame him. Messi has never bothered with records, personal praise or individual accolades. But now that he’s won almost everything, now that he’s been raised onto the pedestal in every corner of the world and placed himself in the debate to become the greatest footballer of all time, you’d forgive him if he’s growing just a little bored of scoring 40-plus mundane goals in a season. 

But is that the right thing to do? Taunting your opponents by attempting to walk the ball into the net? 

Cristiano Ronaldo is often criticised for unnecessary showboating with the ball, and he was berated for being disrespectful against Atletico Madrid when he flummoxed the opposition with an espaldinha – cushioning down a high ball with his back.

The same can be said for Messi if he keeps wasting chances by being too flamboyant. Just because his Barcelona team-mates will constantly furnish him with a plethora of chances in front of goal doesn’t mean he has to be extravagant with them.

Messi will face off against, lo and behold, Zaragoza on Saturday evening. Will he be the hero again for the Blaugrana against the Aragons? Very likely. Will he score another jaw-dropper of a goal? You’d put some of your weekend beer money on it.

After that, it’s the welcome of Arsenal to the Camp Nou. Can Leo replicate his heroic four-goal haul against the Gunners? Possible, but only if he shows the ruthless side of his game.