Ex-Barça man Jeremy Mathieu to man-mark Lionel Messi for Sporting?

His team didn't win the game but he had the small consolation of minimising the performance of the best player in the world. Girona manager Pablo Machin celebrated the man-marking from Pablo Maffeo on Lionel Messi which could be repeated on Wednesday by Sporting Club coach Jorge Jesus.

The player chosen to stick to Messi this time could be Jeremy Mathieu. The former Barça defender is a regular for the Portuguese side, to the point that he's only missed six minutes in the league and one cup game. The Frenchman has played the rest of the minutes possible and could, therefore, become the first option to limit the effect of the world's best player. 

Another option for Jorge Jesus is Rodrigo Battaglia, Messi's Argentine compatriot and a summer signing from Braga. 

If Jorge Jesus decided to use Battaglia or Mathieu as Messi's shadow, man-marking him could become a trend, given Mateo Kovacic also did it in the Spanish Super Cup, when the Barça forward only scored a penalty in a 3-1 loss.  

In the Girona-Barça game, Maffeo stuck to Messi. Messi tried, but he was unable to score at Montilivi. Jorge Jesus will make a decision on the day of the game on how he will deal with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner. 

FULL-BACK KNOWLEDGE 

At full-back, Jorge Jesus will have two players that have faced Messi before: on the right, Piccini, who last season played in Real Betis' 1-1 draw with Barça, and on the left, Fabio Coentrao, who has faced Messi while a Real Madrid player.