For Barcelona there are a number of scenarios that could take place that would put the team at a tremendous disadvantage; most of the time, the squad can overcome those difficulties. However, there is one scenario that is insurmountable for the club, and it just happened.
Barcelona announced that Lionel Messi has a thigh injury and will be out for two to three weeks.
"Leo Messi has a small injury to the biceps femoris [thigh] in his right leg," said an official statement from the club. "This was confirmed by medical tests undertaken by the player on Sunday morning at Medical Services Sport City. The Argentinean will be out for approximately two to three weeks, which will certainly force him to miss Barcelona's two games this week - on Tuesday against Celtic and next Saturday at the Camp Nou against Valladolid."
That outcome is as bad as it gets for Blaugrana. The club has come to depend on Messi for offense throughout the last few years. Barcelona has scored 24 Spanish League matches this season; eight, or 33 percent, have been scored by Messi. Last season, Messi scored 46 goals in the Spanish League; that represented 40 percent of the club's 115 tallies. However, the situation becomes more dire when Messi's prominence in setting up goals is examined. Messi had a total of 12 assists to go along with his 46 goals and was ultimately a major factor in creating 50 percent of Barcelona's Spanish league goals; this does not account for his indispensability in the Champions League. This season Messi has three assists in addition to his eight goals; he has helped create 46 percent of Barcelona's goals.
What does this mean? Just look at last season's Champions League. Without Messi, Barcelona struggled to score goals and was nearly eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the quarterfinals. Down 1-0 in the second half, the team was in dire need of a savior to help them earn the much needed draw. Who came to the rescue? Messi was taken off the bench and helped breakdown PSG's defense to give them the 1-1 draw. In the semifinals, the injured Messi was stifled repeatedly by Bayern Munich in the first leg; this essentially nullified Barcelona's attack. In the second leg of the contest, Messi was left on the bench and Barcelona was outplayed at home against Munich and lost 3-0; the team barely threatened the opposing goal once.
All the pressure now rests on young Neymar; the Brazilian was brought in to become the team's secondary attacking option and will now become the main man. He has played well and has helped set up goals, but now he will need to adjust his role and be the bonafide finisher. His success will determine whether Barcelona is ready for life without Messi.
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