Barca shouldn't 'depend' on one player - Messi

Lionel Messi said Barcelona have good enough players to not have to depend on him to bail them out every week after helping salvage a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao.

The debate about Barca's dependence on Messi is not a new one, but it resurfaced on Saturday when the Argentine came off the bench to help them salvage a point at Camp Nou as their winless run extended to three games.

Messi, who was introduced in the 55th minute, had already hit the post and seen a free kick cleared off the line when he set up Munir El Haddadi to equalise with five minutes to play.

"We have the squad and the players to be a great team, to be a strong team and not depend on anyone," Messi told BeIn Sports when asked if Barca were too reliant on him.

"This is Barca. We have enough players, we don't need to depend on one. These results have been a shame, but we have to stay calm because it's a long season."

Striker Luis Suarez also said Barca, whose tie with Athletic followed a midweek defeat to Leganes and a draw with Girona, should be able to cope without Messi.

"We have the best player in the world but we can't depend on Leo coming on to sort things out," the Uruguayan said to reporters.

"There are a lot of us here on our own merits, for having shown a lot at other clubs, and it doesn't depend only on Leo coming on. We should have won the game before he came on."

Barca travel to Tottenham in the Champions League on Wednesday, their fourth game in 10 days, and coach Ernesto Valverde said that was the reason for leaving Messi on the bench.

"I looked at the games we had, I thought what could happen and I thought that Messi and [Sergio] Busquets needed to rest, knowing that Wednesday is a big game and we have a big squad," Valverde said in a postgame news conference.

"If we won 2-1 the question wouldn't even exist. I know it's a risky decision [leaving Messi out]. I took that risk and haven't won. It's absolutely my responsibility."

Barca won their first four games in the league this season but have now dropped seven points in just six days, spanning three games.

Most worrying is the fact they have conceded eight goals already but, while admitting there are areas to improve, Messi said there is no need to panic at this stage of the campaign.

"There's no anxiety," he added. "The season's long and it's early days. We're angry about recent results because they weren't what we expected. But we were good in the first half at Leganes and we lost. Today we created enough to win, but we couldn't.

"We have to improve. We're aware we have to be stronger in defence. We're coming from a season when it was difficult to score against us and now it's taking very little for [the opposition] to score. We have to improve and get stronger in defence, that's the most important thing."

Ramos bemoans Real's missed chance to pounce on Barcelona slip-up

 

Saturday's goalless derby against Atletico Madrid in La Liga did not please the Blancos captain

Sergio Ramos lamented Real Madrid's draw against city rivals Atletico Madrid as the European champions missed the opportunity to capitalise on Barcelona dropping points.
After crashing to a 3-0 loss at Sevilla last time out, Real dropped points in La Liga for the second successive match following Saturday's goalless draw with Atletico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real were less than convincing on home soil, relying on the brilliance of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to secure a draw in the Spanish capital.

La Liga holders Barca had earlier drawn 1-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao and Madrid captain Ramos told reporters post-game: "We knew the importance of these three points to take advantage of Barcelona slipping up. The draw feels disappointing after the great job we've done.
"In the first half Atletico pushed higher, but in the second we controlled the game and just missed the finishing touch that we've had in other games. We have to look forward now.

"You always have to have the utmost respect for the opponent because in these games mistakes are decisive, so it's better to be careful and not pay the price.
"The team dug in well, controlled the game and dominated, but we've not been successful in front of goal and we've dropped points."
Dani Ceballos impressed for Real after replacing injured team-mate Gareth Bale at half-time.

Bale suffered a suspected thigh injury and Spaniard Ceballos injected some much-needed energy into Real's attack.

Article continues below

"I think that it was a tactical and tough contest," Ceballos said. "We did enough in the second half to have won the game. If we show the same attitude as we did tonight, we can go on and achieve big things.
"Gareth had a bit of discomfort and Julen [Lopetegui] told me to go out there and just be myself and to run at Juanfran. It's a shame that after the bad knee injury he suffered he has been unable to perform to the same level.

"We created quite a few chances. If we continue on in this vein, the goals will come. This was my best performance in a Real Madrid shirt but what I take away with me is the fact that we failed to get the win. We were the ones who put our all into winning the game. We've now got the Champions League game on Tuesday and we have to keep going."

Ghana drops to 51st in latest FIFA World Ranking

Ghana has dropped six places in the latest FIFA Ranking for August as the Black Stars ranked 51st position globally and 7th in Africa.

The biggest leap in terms of points is in Africa, however, with Kenya (107th, up 5) clinching 22 points – 17.9 of which thanks to a 1-0 win over Ghana in CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.

As a result of that defeat to Kenya, the Black Stars join Slovenia (61st, down 6), as the biggest fallers of the month.

Ghana’s highest ever performance since the ranking’s introduction in August 1993 remains a 14 place in February 2008, while their worst placement was an 89 position reached in June 2004.

Belgium climbed to the top of the ranking alongside 2018 World Cup winners France, which means that the top spot is currently being shared for the first time in the table’s 25-year history.

A pair of wins for the Red Devils (1st, up 1), including their first in the UEFA Nations League over Iceland (36th, down 4), has brought them level with Les Bleus (1st, unchanged) on 1,729 points. The only other change in the top ten sees Denmark (10th, down 1) slip below Spain (9th, unchanged).

Africa’s Top 10 on August’s FIFA rankings:

Tunisia (23)
Senegal (25)
DR Congo (40)
Morocco (45)
Nigeria (48)
Cameroon (50)
Ghana (51)
Burkina Faso (56)
Mali (63)
Egypt (64)