La Liga: Barcelona is not a one-man team, says Lionel Messi

"Today I think we created situations to win and we couldn't do it and we are aware that we have to become stronger defensively and that we cannot score goals in every match." Barca coach Ernesto Valverde accepted after the game that leaving Messi out with Spurs in mind had been a risk that had failed to pay off. It also left the team open to accusations again of an over-reliance on Messi. "We have a strong team and we don't depend on any one player," Messi said.

"This is Barcelona, we have enough players not to have to depend on a player. What is said, it hurts after these results but we have to be calm and be aware that this is a very long season." Barcelona take on Spurs, having made the perfect start in the Champions League by beating PSV Eindhoven 4-0. Messi scored a hat-trick. "On Wednesday we're going to have a tough match and we need to be focused on qualification already because it is a very complicated group," Messi added. "We are aware that we have to improve many things, but we need to stay calm, it's a very long season."

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