Why Leo Messi was benched before Tottenham

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Barcelona 1 – Athletic Bilbao 1

Are Barcelona in crisis?

That seems rather strange to say considering Barcelona are top of the Spanish league after seven rounds of the season.

However Barcelona are currently on a three-game winless run following a 1-1 draw at home against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Oscar De Marcos fired Bilbao into the lead in the Camp Noy in the 41st minute.

Munir El Haddadi earned Barca a share of the spoils with an 84th minute equaliser.

Leo Messi benched before Tottenham

This midweek, Barcelona take on Tottenham in the Champions League at Wembley.

Prior to the Spurs game, Ernesto Valverde took the shock decision to bench Leo Messi against Bilbao.

Messi replaced Arturo Vidal in the 55th minute as the Catalans chased the game.

Why Messi was rested vs Bilbao

The topic of Messi being on the bench caused plenty of chatter.

After the game Bilbao coach Eduardo Berizzo admitted he was “surprised” by Messi’s absence from the starting XI.

Valverde explained he left Messi out the team to give the Argentine a breather.

However it’s not taken long for the conspiracy theories to spread either.

Don Balon, known for being a particularly unreliable source, claim Messi was left out of the Barcelona starting 11 against Bilbao as a punishment.

The report claims Messi refused to go to a dinner meeting put together by manager Ernesto Valverde following the loss to Leganes.

To be clear, that rumour seems baseless and without merit.

Also see: Tottenham’s Danny Rose accused of cheating vs Huddersfield.

Sergio Aguero injury confirmed after Man City 2 – Brighton 0.



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