Barcelona Star Lauds 'Different' Lionel Messi After Win Over Real Betis

Barcelona’s recent win over Real Betis proved how good the team could be with Lionel Messi on the pitch, according to Jordi Alba.

Messi came off the bench in the second half of the La Liga match against Real Betis on Saturday at Camp Nou. Heading into the game, the Argentine has never missed a minute of action for the Catalans this season. However, he still managed to make his presence felt inside the pitch after scoring a brace to help his team thrash Betis.

After the game, Alba, who has been with the Catalans since 2012, praised the Barcelona captain for immediately infusing a major boost into the team’s performance.

"His quality is there [for all to see]," Alba told Marca of Messi. "He came on and changed the game. He's a different player. It was [Ronald Koeman’s] the boss's decision [to leave Messi out] today. We play a lot better with Messi and we all want him on the pitch."

Alba added that it was in the second half of the match when the entire team seemed to refine their game. Messi’s arrival surely influenced the team in a positive way, and Alba is pleased with the significant improvement, especially in terms of goal conversion.

"It makes you angry but that's football," the left-back said of Barca's missed chances in the first half. "We were unlucky with the penalty, the post, we had clear [chances]. But we scored them in the second half."

Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman, meanwhile, addressed the unexpected benching of Messi against Betis. According to the Dutchman, “Leo” was not fit to play since the beginning, but they have agreed that he would stay by the side “in case” the team needs his help.

"We talked to Leo [Messi], who came out of the Dynamo [Kyiv] game with a niggle and he was not fit to play from the start," Koeman explained to reporters after the final whistle. "He was on the bench in case we needed him. If he was physically OK, he would have played from the start."

Apart from Messi’s game-changing brace in the second half, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Barca youngster Pedri also played an integral part in the club’s win.

Barcelona will be back on Nov. 22 to take on La Liga rival Atletico Madrid. The highly-anticipated match is expected to be monumental as it will be the first time that Messi will face his friend and former teammate, Luis Suarez, since the Uruguayan joined Atletico this summer.