Guardiola leaps to Messi defence

Posted Sunday, February 05, 2012 by ESPN

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has defended Lionel Messi's recent performances, insisting he is happy with his striker's form.

Messi missed a vital penalty in Wednesday's 1-1 Copa del Rey semi-final draw with Valencia, and has now gone three games without scoring since his hat-trick in a La Liga match against Malaga.

Despite still being one of the most dangerous players in Spain, many feel Messi is not playing at his best at the moment, a possible reason why Barca are currently trailing Real Madrid by seven points in the league.

However, Guardiola insists he has no concerns over the Argentinean's form, insisting he is still better than most even when he's not playing at his peak.

"Leo is always fine, he is very competitive," Guardiola said. "He has experienced many things and he always plays well, you already know my opinion.

"Without being at his best, he is superior to other players. He sometimes takes responsibilities without having to."

Guardiola also defended his star over the penalty miss on Wednesday which would have seen Barca take a potentially decisive lead into next week's second leg at the Nou Camp.

"When it comes to penalties, he is amazing," Guardiola added. "I hope that when he retires, he will [have kept up] his good record.

"What happens is that he spoils us. We are all here to help him, while knowing he needs little help. We are all more comfortable when Messi is on the pitch."

The Barca coach also dismissed suggestions they are currently undergoing a crisis, and is backing his players to assert their title credentials against Real Sociedad on Saturday.

"It is very hard to know what the team is missing. I have to be happy with what I have right now.

"Against Valencia we did not field Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, [David] Villa or [Dani] Alves, players who are the soul of this team.

"[Still], we played in an exemplary way. Soon we will be fine.

"There is only one message, which is our match [against Sociedad]. Tomorrow [Saturday] we are playing and we have to win our match.

"We know ourselves and we know where we are. It is not necessary to say every week that the match we are going to play is important.

"We will be in trouble if we step onto the pitch wondering if the other clubs are losing. We will do our job and then we will see what the others do."

Barca also have a UEFA Champions League knockout round clash against Bayer Leverkusen to look forward to later this month.