Tuesday, 30th September, 2014
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has lauded Lionel Messi’s defensive abilities, ahead of his side’s Champions League fixture against Paris Saint-Germain tonight.
The Argentine international has already scored five goals in seven appearances in all competitions this season, in addition to providing eight assists.
Despite his attacking prowess, Messi regularly falls back to help his side’s defence, which has earned him the tag of Barcelona’s “number one defender” from Enrique.
However, the Spaniard was quick to add that Messi is not the only “very important player” for the Catalan giants as he stressed on the importance of team effort.
“Lionel Messi is impressive on so many levels, but he's also our number one defender, although we don't talk too much about it”, Enrique explained to UEFA’s official site.
relatedNewsStory
“He's a very important player for us, but so are many others: the crucial thing is how they all combine together.”
Messi, who is yet to find the back of the net in this season’s Champions League, has thus far scored 359 goals in 432 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona.
The 27-year-old also has 92 caps and 42 goals for Argentina to his name.
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
