With consecutive matches coming up against Barcelona, Real Madrid got a glimpse of a Lionel Messi that they would rather not see again this week.
After a series of lackluster performances, Messi had a stellar game against Sevilla in the Spanish league, scoring a hat-trick and erasing any doubts about his form.
Messi regained his scoring touch just before the two decisive matches against Real Madrid – in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, 27 February, and in the Spanish league on Saturday, 2 March, both at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu.
“When everything flows, things go well for us. We were back to playing like we know how.”Lionel Messi, after Barcelona’s 4-2 win vs Sevilla
Back at his Best?
Messi had struggled recently and had not performed up to his standards since getting injured at the beginning of the month. His right leg injury kept him from playing in the first leg of the Copa del Rey tie against Real Madrid three weeks ago, when Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou.
The Catalan club went through a slump while Messi underperformed, winning only one of five matches and losing momentum ahead of the two matches this week. But with one of the best games of his career against Sevilla, Messi quickly put Barcelona back on track.
“We are just a small step away from another final. It’s a match that is going to be very hard, against Real Madrid, at their stadium. But we are confident that we can go there and win it. Then we will start thinking about the league again. We are going to try to win everything.”Lionel Messi
Crunch Time for Real
Real Madrid, on the other hand, are far from where they want to be heading into the two games against their biggest rival.
Despite the advantage of having scored the away goal in the first leg, Madrid have not played well recently. They are coming off a demoralizing home loss to relegation-threatened Girona last weekend, and struggled in a 2-1 win at Levante on Sunday, 24 February, with the two goals coming through controversial penalty kicks.
Real Madrid had been in high spirits ahead of the first leg of the Copa del Rey, carrying a five-game winning streak in all competitions, which appeared to be cutting into Barcelona's lead in the league.
But the Blancos will head into Saturday’s league meeting nine points behind the Catalans. They also trail second-placed Atletico Madrid by two points, and anything but a win will practically end their title hopes.
Madrid players, however, downplayed the team's recent form and said they were fully prepared, even to face Messi at his best.
“We are ready for everything,” Madrid forward Vinicius Junior said. “Messi is an incredible player who does things that nobody else can do. But we are not afraid of him. Even though he is a great player, we have the best players in the world in our squad. We are excited to have these two 'clasicos' this week.”
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