Lionel Messi 'extraordinary', says Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde

Ernesto Valverde has hailed Lionel Messi as "extraordinary", although his four-goal haul was not a surprise for the Barcelona manager.

The Argentina international put on another superb display during Barcelona's 6-1 demolition of Eibar on Tuesday, and now has 11 goals in his last five games in all competitions.
With record signing Ousmane Dembele injured and Luis Suarez rested, Messi stepped up to the mark and while he came in for praise from Valverde, the coach was not shocked by his display.
"He's one of the most intelligent players I've seen on a football pitch. He's extraordinary," he said.
"From a move where it looks like nothing is going to happen, he can create something good for us and bad for the opposition.

"Him scoring four goals isn't news anymore. He's done this time and time again, on many nights and in many games. He repeats it, he repeats it and he repeats it."
Messi's opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a free-kick before a remarkably accurate finish inside Marko Dmitrovic's far post just before the hour mark. Paulinho played him in to stab home his hat-trick just three minutes later.

Barcelona's rout was completed when Messi played a one-two with Aleix Vidal and tucked home in the 87th minute past the despairing Dmitrovic.
Despite losing Neymar in the summer to Paris Saint-Germain, suffering frustration in the transfer market and seeing president Josep Maria Bartomeu's reign questioned, Messi's virtuoso displays have kept Barcelona top of the table with a 100 per cent record.