Messi’s heat-map against Osasuna is in the shape of a goat | OneFootball

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Football fans can argue that so are heat-maps. Heat-maps are used to identify the frequency of events spread in a given particular area, are a common way to find out a position and operating zone of a player.

Lionel Messi started on the right wing as Barcelona took on Osasuna today, with Antoine Griezmann playing off of Martin Braithwaite, who was the central striker.

Messi put up an absolute show, scoring one goal, giving four key passes, and creating two big chances. He was unlucky to walk out of the game with no more than a goal in terms of a direct contribution. However, his heat-map from the game definitely stood out.

Lionel Messi’s heatmap vs Osasuna

According to Sofascore, Messi’s heat-map for the night is in the shape of a goat, which is worthy of his performance, no less in the gameweek where he paid tribute to the late Diego Maradona. The Argentine is often referred to as the G.O.A.T (Greatest of all Time) footballer, and it looks like the footballing gods approve of his status as one.

Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong were among the other players who stood out, as Barcelona rampaged over Osasuna to register a 4-0 win, leapfrogging seven places to 7th in the table.