He might have missed more than one in every five penalties he’s taken, but Lionel Messi is being given plenty of time to improve his record.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said the club still has “plenty of confidence” in the Argentine from 12 yards, despite him missing one of his two spot-kicks against Levante.
Enrique responded bluntly to the suggestion that the club might look for a new penalty taker, according to the Daily Mirror, with the coach reported to have said: “Leo is going to take them and that is that”.
Messi has scored just 78% of his penalties for Barcelona in La Liga and the Champions League, compared to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid record of 90%.
