Lionel Messi stole the show in Argentina’s 2-1 World Cup round of 16 win over Australia, but you may have noticed he did it without breaking a sweat.
It’s well known Messi takes his time to get going in a game, which has left him open to criticism.
You’ll never catch him making a lung-busting run to press the goalkeeper or tracking back to stop a counter.
In Qatar, it’s been more prevalent than ever. A graphic shown by BBC Sport before Saturday’s victory calculated which players had covered the most distance at walking pace.
Messi’s three Group C appearances against Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland were all in the top 10, making him the only player to appear on the list three times.
Exactly why does he do it? Well, a manager who knows him better than anyone summed it up perfectly a few years ago.
He suggested Messi remains ‘involved’ in the game by mapping out the pitch and opposition formation. Once that’s in his locker, Messi will happily take it to defenders with increased intensity.
“He’s not out of the game. He’s involved,” the Manchester City boss declared. “Moving his head. Right, left, left, right. He smells who is the weak point of the back four. After five, 10 minutes, he has the map. He knows if I move here, here, I will have more space to attack.”
As part of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘This Is Football’ series, Guardiola watched highlights of a Messi performance against Real Madrid in 2017.
After one piece of skill, he remarked: “Oh, that’s genius! That is quite incredible. We are contemporary of that guy. So enjoy it. Lionel Messi, just simply one of a kind. He is so good.”
Three minutes later, Lisandro Martinez made a vital block to deny Australia left-back Aziz Behich an equaliser.
Can Messi waltz to his first World Cup triumph in his last as a player? Only time will tell.