Carles Puyol says Barcelona players must help David Villa with goal responsibility
Barcelona defender Carles Puyol has urged his team-mates to pick up the slack and chip in with goals when David Villa cannot find them himself.
2010 FIFA World Cup-winning striker Villa has struggled in front of the opposition net this season, having failed to live up to the prolific scoring standards he set before his summer move from Valencia.
Villa, who is Spain’s joint all-time record goalscorer, has netted just four times in ten matches across all competitions, meaning that the club cannot solely rely on him to provide them with wins.
In the UEFA Champions League group stage match against Copenhagen on Wednesday, 21 October, the goalscoring responsibilities fell to Lionel Messi, who netted both goals in a 2-0 win to claim all three points. Villa, meanwhile, failed to find the back of
the net.
Messi leads scoring charts
While Villa has struggled, Messi has set the scoring charts alight, having netted ten goals in ten games across all competitions.
As a result of Villa’s relative downturn in form, Puyol, who himself has scored a vital goal this season (the winner in the 2-1 victory over Valencia on Sunday), has called on the rest of the Barca players to start scoring more goals, but also believes Villa
will soon rediscover his finishing touch.
"We all need to help while Villa is very quiet, but he is one of the best in the world, no doubt about it. Not only did Lionel Messi lift the team, all my colleagues were very good and we are confident. The team is well, and has enthusiasm and desire. We
have won many things, but we are still hungry."
Villa earned a reputation as one of the world’s most feared strikers while at Valencia. During his five seasons there, he scored 129 goals in 212 games. He has also netted 44 times in 69 games for the Spain national team.
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