Messi spreads the wealth

Everyone is so accustomed to seeing Lionel Messi score bucket-loads of goals that it sometimes gets overlooked how stellar of a passer the Argentine superstar can be. Wednesday night’s 4-1 Copa del Rey win over Levante served as a reminder that Messi isn’t just about goals.

Messi registered the assist on each of the four Barcelona goals, the first of which technically was not an assist but certainly was the catalyst to the Juanfran own goal. Ironically, Cristian Tello was the benefactor of Messi’s unselfish ways as the former La Masia product scored his first ever hat trick. It was also the first time that Messi ever collected three assists in a match. One could not help but be struck by the incisive, surgical deliveries from his boot. Whether it was quick play from a free kick or a perfectly timed ball on a perfectly timed run, Messi was in full control and pulling the strings against a hapless Levante defense.

The performance is even more noteworthy in light of the milestone reached by Messi at the Ciutat de Valencia. Messi played in his 400th Barcelona match and did so in magnificent style. With his goals-to-assists ratio in those 400 matches roughly 3:1, it is scary to think how much more potent Barcelona could become should Messi make that ratio even over the course of the next 400 matches.