Messi claims goalkeepers have studied his penalty tricks

Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi, has admitted that he is getting frustrated with success rate from the penalty spot this season.

The 27-year-old has missed four penalties for club and country this season, including against Manchester City in the Champions League, Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey and Brazil in an international friendly.

Messi confirmed that he remains the number one penalty taker for Barca, but accepts that he must improve from the spot, especially now that goalkeepers are beginning to study his technique from 12 yards.

“Yes there is a lot of frustration that I have missed a lot of penalties, both for the club and for Argentina,” Messi told Barca’s official magazine.

“I am the designated penalty taker, but when the goalkeepers study you, they know your ideas more. It is true to say that a well-taken penalty is very difficult to stop, but now it’s more complicated when it comes to taking a penalty.

“These are things in football, but it is true that I have made poor decisions, such as against Manchester City, when the goal would have given us a very important advantage.

“But like everything in football, we are fortunate that every three days there is another game – you cannot keep regretting what happened.”

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