I'm sure you've seen people calling Leo Messi 'Eibar Man' or 'Leganessi' at least once in your life.
Why do they do it?
The story has its roots in February 2020. Messi scored four of Barca's five goals against Eibar, ending his four-match goalless run.
Eibar's reaction was awesome: "We suffer because of you. We are afflicted by you. We endure you. But we have no other choice but to stand up and applaud you."
Messi haters liked the plot.
One of them puts it this way: "He is called the Eibar Man because he always statpads by scoring against weak teams like Eibar after bottling the Champions League year after year and making fake promises."
Now let's take a look at the 10 teams Messi has scored against the most.
Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Athletic Club, Real Madrid, Real Betis, Espanyol, Osasuna, Levante, Getafe.
Eibar only sit in 12th place, Leganes in 24th. 20 goals in just 11 games against Eibar is impressive indeed – but is he really worth the Eibar Man status knowing that he missed BOTH matches against them in 2020/21?
People who call Messi this way often mention his 'disasterclass' performances against Roma and Liverpool. Yet they forget about his real impact in these games.
Messi vs Roma (Barca lost 3-0):
- 2 key passes
- 5 shots
- 2 interceptions
Messi vs Liverpool (Barca lost 4-0):
- 3 key passes (Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho failed to score in 1v1 situations each)
- 5 shots
- 4/5 completed dribbles
As usual, Messi haters only use stereotypical thinking and don't see what exactly Leo brings to a football game.
