Barcelona goal drought goes on for Lionel Messi
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
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Barcelona's defeat by Atlético Madrid on Wednesday was the fifth club game on the trot in which Lionel Messi has failed to score – his worst run since April 2010.
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It would not create even the slightest of ripples for most players, but Lionel Messi's failure to register against Atlético Madrid in Wednesday's UEFA Champions League quarter-final makes this the Argentina forward's most barren run for Barcelona since April 2010.
The 28-year-old has not scored for the club since 16 March, when he sealed a 3-1 win against Arsenal in the round of 16 second leg. He has since gone 452 minutes without a goal for the Azulgrana, though he did net from the spot for Argentina against Bolivia on 29 March.
That represents his worst sequence in six years, since a drought of 527 minutes. When Messi did rediscover his shooting boots in 2010, he proceeded to hit seven in his last four games of the campaign.
Messi's goal drought
20 March: Villarreal 2-2 Barcelona
2 April: Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid
5 April: Barcelona 2-1 Atlético Madrid
9 April: Real Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona
12 April: Atlético Madrid 2-0 Barcelona