What’s the story?
Lionel Messi and his Barcelona team suffered humiliation at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League. The Catalans lost 4-0 at the Parc de Prances. They were outplayed in every category and it was a tactical masterclass from Unai Emery.
Messi had an off day in what was described as one his worst performances in a Barcelona shirt. Indeed it was that dominant of a performance from the hosts and they have probably put the tie beyond the Catalans despite the second leg being at the Nou Camp.
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The result left the players and the coach in shock and in light of the of the defeat, Lionel Messi canceled his trip to Egypt. The Argentine was scheduled to fly to the African nation but decided against it after what had happened.
He had to make an appearance in Cairo for a campaign in support of Hepatitis C patients.on Wednesday.
In case you didn’t know...
Lionel Messi is currently the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League this season with 10 goals. It was a clash between the top scorers of the tournament with Edinson Cavani having 6 goals prior to the game.
It looks like he won’t be able to extend that goal tally beyond a certain number if Barcelona are knocked out in the round of 16.
The heart of the matter
Barcelona came into this game as favorites but nobody expected the scoreline of 4-0 by the end of the game. It was arguably the club's worst ever performance in the last decade and that included a 4-0 humiliation at Bayern Munich as well.
But considering Messi was not there for the majority of that fixture due to injury this loss can be attributed to an ever worse performance. Messi would have been hurt after that game and it is understandable that he decided to skip the event in Cairo.
The players also had words to share on the plane back and Messi probably wanted to be part of the conversation and discuss on how to move on from this loss.
What’s next?
Messi and Co. will have to now concentrate on La Liga and ty to forget what’s happened in the Champions League. It’s not often a club of their level are defeated so mercilessly but they have every chance of turning it around at the Camp Nou given the quality of players at their disposal.
Sportskeeda’s take
Barcelona will probably not overturn this deficit but Messi canceling his event will mean something to his teammates. There is at least togetherness in the dressing room even if on the pitch things aren’t going according to plan.
