CELTIC PARK, Glasgow—What a difference the best player in the world makes. Who would have thought it?
To boil down the contrast between Barcelona’s 0-0 draw with Malaga at Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon and their 2-0 win at Celtic on Wednesday night to the mere presence of Lionel Messi may seem simplistic.
Certainly, it would be ignoring other factors, like the hosts' game plan not being as quite as miserly as Malaga’s and the return of Luis Suarez.
Factors like this being the first-choice XI bar Andres Iniesta, who is injured, and Jordi Alba’s attacking thrust down the left giving Barcelona an extra outlet they have missed in previous weeks.