Barcelona 5-Betis 2 | A little bit of Messi is a lot

It was not necessary to wait for the end of the game to have the news of the duel, it was provided by Koeman in his starting lineup, leaving Messi on the bench in a decision that ultimately led to a new display of the Argentine, which he achieved with his appearance in the second Part of what seemed impossible: getting Griezmann to score with an invisible assist and deciding 5-2 for a fundamental game for Koeman's men and making it clear that a little Messi is a lot.

The absence of Messi from the beginning drew an attack scheme with Pedri on the left, Dembélé as the right winger, Ansu at the top and Griezmann as the midfielder general captain, his preferred position.

And it cannot be said that the Frenchman was bad in his task, because on paper he perfectly fulfilled what he was ordered to do, but it was something else when the plan had to be put into practice. The success of the Frenchman in front of goal took tints of a paranormal phenomenon in the first part. Some time ago they explained to me that the height of poor aim was what happened to a friend, who wanted to go hunting with the elders in town. Before joining the party, his uncle took him to the corral, took a rabbit, tied it to a tree, gave him the shotgun and ordered him to shoot one meter from the animal. The kid shot and hit the rope. The rabbit must still run through the mountains of Soria. That one looked like Griezmann.

The Frenchman had five clear chances to score in the first half. He failed the first in minute five, but unlike what happened against Dinamo, he did not sink, he continued to stubbornly and failed religiously. He even blew a penalty in the 33rd minute. The first for Claudio Bravo in four years.

But nevertheless, around Griezmann's jinx, Barça built an offensive game. Ansu was a nuisance in point and Dembélé, unpredictable. Capable of losing the simplest balls and opening the scoring with a huge blow at 22 minutes.

But if Barça produced in attack, in defense, it suffered a worrying gap on its right wing, where Tello and Álex Moreno did whatever they wanted with Sergi Roberto and Dembélé. They had a highway that they ended up taking advantage of in the first half discount so that Sanabria tied a game that started again from zero when Messi entered the field of play in the position of Ansu Fati.

And Messi did what seemed impossible: get Griezmann to score. He did it by giving an assist worthy of a genius. Without touching the ball showing that you can be the best without running and without having to hit the balln. He attracted the defenders, avoided the leather and left the Frenchman on target to break the rabbit hunter's curse.

The impact of the Argentine in the game was definitive. Ten minutes after his invisible assist to Griezmann, he gave Dembélé a shot that Mandi avoided with his elbow on the goal line. After VAR review, the Algerian was red and a new goal from eleven meters for Leo, who shot Bravo.

But the gap in the right wing was still open for Betis, who He cut the distance through Loren in Moreno's umpteenth internship, but this time in the Messi field, who closed any debate with a goal full of rage that settled a game that Pedri sealed the day it was shown that a little Leo is a lot, very much.