Pablo Machin: Leo Messi wasn't the decisive player that he can be

Girona manager Pablo Machin says he has no regrets about man-marking Lionel Messi, despite losing 3-0 to Barcelona on Saturday. 

Machin stuck Pablo Maffeo to Messi for the whole game, but while it kept the Argentine quiet, it didn't stop Barça extending their winning start to the season to six games. 

"I don’t think that Messi was the decisive player that he can be today," Machin said. "You have to try something; we tried to reduce his impact. We have had the yellow card for (Pablo) Maffeo really quickly, but he’s done well.  

"We’ll have to analyse it, but I don’t think we lost because of man-marking him. What is clear is that Messi’s not had as much importance today as in other games. We lost so I’m not happy, but we managed to minimise the input of the best player in the world. We looked to make it nine against nine (outfield players) and I think from there (Barca) had some fortune. 

"When you watch Barça’s games, you wonder how man-marking (Messi) would stop him. I stuck with the decision so I wouldn’t have any doubts about how it would have gone if we’d minimised the best player in the world and played them nine against nine. I think, in that sense, it went well. Maffeo didn’t let him get too involved in the game. With the amount of kicks Messi’s suffered before, Maffeo did practically nothing (to be booked)."

However, in general, Machin acknowledged the difference between the two sides: "We are against one of the best teams in the world. We did all we could. At 80 percent they can beat any team, including us. You have to recognise that the first two goals were unfortunate, too. In the end, you need to be really effective (to beat Barca)."