ARE BARCA BETTER OFF WITHOUT MESSI?

BARCELONA'S Champions LEAGUE WIN PERCENTAGE HEIGHR WITHOUT MESSI 

The Argentine attacker is currently sidelined with a groin injury and here, Goal takes a look at how the Blaugrana have fared in Europe when their star man has been missing

 

ANALYSIS

The Champions League is back and there is no Lionel Messi for Barcelona. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is sidelined for a few weeks with an adductor strain and will play no part against Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday night. Statistically, however, it may not necessarily be bad news for the Catalan club.

Barca cruise to 5-0 win without Messi in Gijon

The Argentine attacker is a four-time Champions League winner with Barca, having claimed the trophy in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015. In the first of those titles, however, he was out injured for a spell including the latter stages of the tournament, while he took time out through injury in 2013-14 and again last season.

In the last three successes, Messi has been the centrepoint of the team and the inspiration behind those victories, yet overall the stats are surprising: Barcelona have won a higher percentage of matches in the Champions League when he has been out than when he has been in the side.

In 98 Champions League clashes with Messi in the team, Barcelona have won 60, drawn 23 and lost 15. When he has been out, meanwhile, the Catalans have come out on top in 22 of 34, drawing eight and losing four.

Luis Enrique defends handling of Messi

That means the win percentage when he has been missing is higher - 64.7 per cent of games won without him compared to 61.2% when he has been in the side.

Obviously there are other factors to take into account, such as the rivals in question and it is towards the end of the competition against the most difficult adversaries when Messi has almost always featured - with the exception of 2005-06.

There have also been far fewer fixtures when he has not been in the team and over more matches, it is likely that the win percentage would decrease - especially if he were to be missing in the latter stages.

AFA apologise to Barcelona

In terms of goals, Barca have netted 215 (in 98 games) with Messi and 61 (in 34) without him. So unsurprisingly, the Blaugrana are more effective in front of goal when their finest forward is present: 2.2 goals per game in his presence; 1.8 when he is absent.

Possession is also higher with Messi (68.8% compared to 66.3%), along with passing accuracy in the final third (80.6% to 74.7%) and passing accuracy in the opposition half (86.3% to 81.4%).

So it is clear that as an attacking force, Barcelona are - quite logically - a superior side when the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is involved, yet the stats show that in terms of results in the Champions League, they have coped very well without him.