BARCELONA: Barcelona need to ensure Lionel Messi is more involved in Saturday’s La Liga ‘Clasico’ at Real Madrid than he was in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey semi-final second-leg victory over their arch-rivals, coach Ernesto Valverde said. Messi, all-time top scorer in the ‘Clasico’, was unusually quiet in his side’s 3-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu, a game in which Real had many more chances but Barca were more clinical. You always expect a lot of your players, Messi included,” Valverde told a news conference on Friday. “We are playing for points, it’s a different competition to Wednesday and it’s difficult to get the same result in two games in a row but we will try and win,” Valverde added. “It would give us a huge confidence boost and take more points from Madrid, who are a direct rival.

Source: Pakistan Today March 02, 2019 09:45 UTC