Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona: 5 Talking Points | LaLiga 2019/2020 

#2 Quiet day at office for Lionel Messi

Messi was quiet against Espanyol

When the Barcelona players trudged outside from the dressing room for the resumption of the second half, all cameras in the stadium panned on the club's number 10 and rightly so.

At that point, Barcelona were 1-0 down and had lacked any of sense of purpose or direction in the first half.

They were in need of inspiration and everybody expected that source of inspiration to come from their captain.

Lionel Messi has been the difference maker time and again for the Blaugrana over the years that his genius is almost taken for granted but on the day, he was outshone by his friend and teammate Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan international was the star of the show, inspiring Barcelona's comeback with a goal and assist and while it was not enough to pick up all three points, there can be no denying the impact the former Liverpool man had.

By contrast, Messi was uncharacteristically off-colour and was nowhere near the majestic levels we have come to associate with him over the years.

There were undeniably moments of brilliance, such as when he dribbled across five players to find Luis Suarez in the second half but on the overall balance of play, it was a poor day at the office for the mercurial Argentine.

The blank drawn against Espanyol means that Messi has now scored just one goal in his last four matches and while not yet alarming, Barcelona would need him at his best to achieve their aims on all fronts.