You never really want to get yourself in a situation where you’re seen as a one-man team, but when you have Lionel Messi in the side it’s natural that everything will flow through him.
Barca have had a few issues when he’s not been in the side this season as it still looks like the players are waiting for someone else to take the lead rather than stepping up, so they really need him to play in every game.
There were some suggestions that he had picked up a slight strain in the recent game with Granada, but it now looks like he’s going to miss the Super Cup game against Real Sociedad tonight:
Información de @ESPNDeportes
De Messi:
•Parecía que las molestias de Granada eran mínimas pero no desaparecieron del todo
•No tuvo buenas sensaciones esta mañana y se quedó en el hotel
•Hay que esperar, pero casi está descartado para esta noche
+ info en @ESPNDeportes
— moisESPN (@moillorens) January 13, 2021
It’s suggested that he was struggling with the injury this morning and didn’t take part in any team session, but he’s not been officially ruled out yet.
It could be a big call to make for Koeman because the Super Cup may yet be his best chance at winning something this season, but it’s probably not worth losing Messi for longer if he plays through it and picks up something worse.
There’s also a feeling that this could be the perfect time for Griezmann and co to step up when you consider they’ve been in good form so their confidence should be up, but it could give Sociedad some belief they can win if Messi does miss out.