Lionel Messi was unable to lead Barcelona to victory in the 2014 Copa del Rey final. He did, however, receive a conciliatory prize in the form of a hug from his measured rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Thigh and muscle problems kept Ronaldo from featuring in the final clásico of the season. Only one of the two greatest players this footballing generation has seen would have the opportunity to play a part in the cup final. That, however, wasn't the case after examining Messi's numbers in the Mestalla Stadium.
In a 90-minute shift, Messi had the fewest impact of any attacking Barcelona player. His 67 touches pale in comparison to that of Neymar's (78), Iniesta's (90) and Xavi's (113). According to the statisticians at WhoScored, only Javier Mascherano (6.1 rating) had a worse performance than the four-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner (6.2 rating). It didn't help Messi that he's fresh off a performance that saw him run just 1.5 kms more than his goalkeeper, Josè Manuel Pinto, either.
Lionel Messi covered just 6.8 KM last night against Atletico. Only 1.5 KM more than goalkeeper Pinto.
— FutbolBible (@FutbolBible) April 10, 2014
"Disappointing" is the only way to describe the events at Valencia.
Left dejected, manager Tata Martino admitted the defeat to Real Madrid was a tough one to swallow (h/t to Marca). "It's a very heavy blow because we had high expectations for today's game," Martino said. "We had control. We lacked a bit of cutting edge. We paid dearly for two counterattacks," he added.
"People feel hurt when we lose and look at the age of these players, but Barça have a bright future."
The good news for Messi is: Even if Barcelona don't have a bright future, Cristiano Ronaldo will always be around to console him.
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