Ernesto Valverde: Now I Can Enjoy Lionel Messi

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde admits he took great delight in finally being able to unleash Lionel Messi on opposing teams rather than being on the receiving end of the forward’s genius.

Messi took his tally to seven goals in his last three club games with a double as Barca opened their Champions League campaign with an impressive 3-0 victory over last season’s beaten finalists Juventus.

Following on from his derby hat-trick against Espanyol on Saturday, Messi opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time after a one-two with Luis Suarez before drilling in Barca’s third goal in the 69th minute after Ivan Rakitic had doubled their lead.

Messi might well have been celebrating another treble but saw his 51st-minute effort strike a post.

Valverde, having spent many years trying to find a way to stop Messi, admits he is now sitting back and relishing having the 30-year-old at his disposal.

The former Athletic Bilbao, Valencia and Espanyol boss, who took over at Barca in the summer, said: “You always think when he gets the ball that only good things can happen for the team. I suffered a lot when I had to face him and now I’m enjoying him. He was heavily involved in everything.”

Barca’s victory came on the back of a three-match winning streak to start their La Liga campaign – during which they have yet to concede a goal – and saw them take early control of Group D.

Valverde told AS: “We played against one of last season’s finalists, we kept a clean sheet and we scored three goals. It was vital to get off to a winning start in the group stage.”

Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri, whose side lost to Real Madrid in last season’s final and also to Barca in the 2015 showpiece, admitted Messi is “unstoppable” if you do not get close enough.

He said: “He shot three times and scored two goals and hit the post.

“If you give him space he’s unstoppable. If we don’t give him any space then we can limit what he can do.”

Allegri was not too downbeat following the loss however, saying: “I don’t think we’re going to have a problem. When we play against teams of this level we cannot allow ourselves to switch off. That’s the difference.

“When they have the ball close to goal they are very dangerous. We have to improve and be more solid mentally.”

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