Now, first of all, I'll explain a little about this stat which I created ( well, unless someone else beat me to it?). The graph below charts Lionel Messi's contribution to Barcelona's attack as a percentage. The bars tell us about Messi's contribution as a percentage in that specific fixture, the red line is Messi's 'rolling' contribution.
The offensive contribution is calculated thus: Shots + Shot Assists (Key Passes)
Get it?
Lionel Messi's Attacking Contribution
Interactive Graphic can be found here LINK>
Messi's individual contribution to Barcelona's attacking output is the highest number I have seen to date. 50% of Barcelona's attacking output was created by the Special One, not only is that number awe-inspiring but it's the consistency of the number that really jumped out at me.
There are no peaks or troughs to Messi's contribution. 50% is his number, his level, it represents his influence on the field of play.
Raw Numbers
Team Total | Shots | Assists |
18 | 9 | 1 |
15 | 7 | 2 |
14 | 5 | 2 |
6 | 3 | 1 |
20 | 7 | 1 |
15 | 5 | 2 |
10 | 4 | |
10 | 5 | 2 |
15 | 7 | 1 |
12 | 5 | 1 |
12 | 4 | 1 |
8 | 3 | 2 |
13 | 5 | 3 |
19 | 7 | 3 |
13 | 4 | 1 |
11 | 4 | |
11 | 7 | |
19 | 5 | 2 |
12 | 4 | 2 |
8 | 5 | |
19 | 8 | 2 |
10 | 5 | 1 |
17 | 7 | 1 |
18 | 8 | 1 |
17 | 7 | 2 |
5 | 2 | 1 |
2 | 1 | |
19 | 6 | 3 |
8 | 4 | 3 |
15 | 5 | 3 |
4 | 2 | |
11 | 3 | 1 |
- Barcelona, as a team, took 406 shots when Messi was on the field of play.
- Messi took 163 of those shots, or 40.1% of the total output.
- Messi created 45 shots assists for his team-mates, or 11%.
Messi's shots assist numbers aren't anything to get too excited about, but on the other hand Messi was responsible for ~40% of ALL Barcelona's shots when he was on the field. It's an incredible number.
If only opposition teams could find a way to stop him performing.........