Messi: I need to improve my penalties

Lionel Messi is almost flawless but there is one aspect of his game that the Barcelona superstar wants to improve.

Published : Sep 16, 2018 15:05 IST

Lionel Messi has tended to be wasteful from the spot on occasions.
Lionel Messi has tended to be wasteful from the spot on occasions.
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Lionel Messi has tended to be wasteful from the spot on occasions.

Barcelona superstar and five-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi said he needs to improve his penalty taking.

Regarded as one the greatest players of all-time, Messi's game is almost flawless having won 33 trophies with Barcelona and numerous individual accolades.

However, the silky-skilled attacker would like to improve one aspect of his football – penalties.

Messi, who missed a spot-kick against Iceland at the World Cup in Russia, told Catalunya Radio prior to Saturday's 2-1 LaLiga win over Real Sociedad: "I would like to be more effective from the penalty spot.

"But it's difficult to work on penalties. It's not the same taking them in training as it is in a game. You can have an idea in your head or something you have worked on, but it's more difficult than it seems.

"The goalkeeper has a lot to do with it, too. If they guess right, they save it. But it's obvious that I'd like to get better at taking penalties."

On his role in general for Barcelona, the Argentine attacker added: "It's normal that your game evolves. When I made my debut I was 17.

"I played in a different position and in a different way back then. Football has changed since, as has my way of playing and moving around the pitch.

"I like where I play now the most. Teams sit deep and put a lot of people in the middle, so it's easier getting the ball a little deeper and coming inside from further out. Moving to the wing means that a lot of the time, the full-back doesn't know what they're meant to do. In the middle, it's harder to get the ball, because there are fewer spaces and a lot of bodies."

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