Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 7y

Luis Enrique hopes Barcelona 'can depend on Messi for many more years'

Luis Enrique hopes Barcelona can be dependent on Lionel Messi for many more years amid accusations his side are too reliant on the striker.

Messi, 29, scored twice in last weekend's 2-1 win against Leganes and followed that brace up with an 86th-minute winner to help Barca earn three important points against Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

Vital goals against Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Sevilla this season have also contributed to his tally of 20 -- more than any other player in La Liga -- and helped the Blaugrana out of difficult situations.

"It would be naive to think there's some not some sort of dependence on the best player in the world," Luis Enrique said in a pregame news conference ahead of Wednesday's visit of Sporting Gijon.

"And I hope we can depend on him for many more years."

Messi and Luis Enrique are currently preparing for three home games in a week, with the Barca coach saying he hopes both Javier Mascherano and Arda Turan will be fit to return to action against Sporting.

That would leave Barca with just Aleix Vidal and Jeremy Mathieu on the sidelines.

The former is out for the remainder of the season, while the latter sprained his ankle in the win over Atletico.

Luis Enrique added that Paco Alcacer could start the game and refused to rule out sticking with a back three with Celta Vigo and Paris Saint-Germain following Sporting to Catalonia on Saturday and next Wednesday respectively.

"Other coaches aren't letting us play the way we played in the past," Luis Enrique said of his decision to try a different formation against Atletico and Barca's decreasing control in midfield.

"There is more pressure on us; [teams] don't let us pass so much. That's credit to opponents and it's the way the game has evolved.

"As far as philosophy is concerned, you don't have ball just to have it -- it is a means to an end.

"You want it to open up spaces, so if an opponent gives you space and [you] only need two passes to score, that's what happens in football. Things constantly change.

"This year, teams are pressing us much more. You've seen them say they don't want to allow us to relax so that they can have [a better] chance against us."

Barca remain one point behind Real Madrid at the top of the table, although Zinedine Zidane's side, who host Las Palmas on Wednesday, still have a game in hand.

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