After a year acclimatization, irregularity and disappointments with PSGthe 2022-2023 season shows a Lionel Messi is back to his usual levels as one of the best on the planet. No longer as this Barcelona record-breaking goalscorer, but as a assistant and generator game that probably they have no equal in the elite.
In seven Ligue 1 games, Messi already has half the goals (3) and assists (7) he got last season (6 and 14) after 26 matches in the domestic league. Its production increased in all areas, but there is one fact in particular that is very impressive: their imbalance to one to one.
At this point, no one is going to discover that Messi is probably the the best dribbler ever seen in the history of this sport and if it is not at the top of the ranking, not too many boxes can appear below it. However, last season had shown a clear drop of rosary in this aspect, in which it seemed these speed dribbles cost a lot more than usual.
In that season, according to WhoScored statistics, Messi completed just 2.5 gambetas per game in Ligue 1. The the lowest mark of his career in a domestic league. Furthermore, not only did he fill in little for his usual, but he also tried far less than normal: barely 3.8 per matchwhen it had never dropped below 5.8 before.
Already 35 years old, the question arose: Could this 2021-2022 be a glimpse of a future with another mode for the Argentine star, far less unbalanced when it comes to overcoming opponents? Reasonable doubts, but luckily, it looks like they found a non-resonant in this 2022-2023 showing Leo in physical and football completeness.
And it is that not only was Messi once again unstoppable one-on-one, but he does it in too Extremely higher rate than any other player.
This move by Lionel Messi was crazy.
How casually he managed it 👑pic.twitter.com/2mcCnKiXtm
— Team Leo (@TeamLeo10i) September 12, 2022
Currently, Messi has a rate of 4.3 goals per game, a mark completely superior to that of any other star player in one of the best leagues on the planet. According to WhoScored, next on the payroll is the Frenchman from Newcastle Allan Saint-Maximin, with 3.5followed by the Englishman of Borussia Dortmund Jude Bellingham (3.2) and the Nigerian from Hertha Berlin Chidera Ejuke (3). Next in Ligue 1 behind Messi? the Moroccan sofiane boufal from Angers at 2.7 per game… Just over half of what Rosario does.
| Pos. | Player | Equipment | Shrimps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Messi | PSG | 4.3 |
| two | Allan Saint Maximin | Newcastle | 3.5 |
| 3 | Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund | 3.2 |
| 4 | Chidera Ejuke | Hertha Berlin | 3.0 |
| 5 | Dodi Lukebaccio | Hertha Berlin | 2.8 |
Another fact worth noting to put what Messi is doing into context is age. Among the 38 best dribblers this season, only Rayo Vallecano’s Óscar Trejo is over 30, as is Flea. Find another player 35 years old in the list you need to return position 182 with Frenchman Romain Hammouma from Ajaccio (1.2 per match).
What is happening with Messi is not normal. Not for any player, least of all someone who should already be entering a different stage of their career, as I might have suggested, obviously wrongly, last season.
