Pep backs Messi to bounce back

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola says Lionel Messi will not be affected by his late penalty miss in Saturday’s La Liga draw with Sevilla.

Messi’s spot-kick was saved by the impressive Javi Varas deep into added time at Camp Nou and ended up costing the Catalans two valuable points as they were held to a goalless draw by Marcelino Garcia Toral’s men.

Messi looked far from happy as he left the pitch, but the Argentine was given support by the home crowd and was also backed by his team-mates after the match.

And with another domestic fixture in store away to promoted Granada on Tuesday, Guardiola believes his star player will quickly put the miss to the back of his mind.

“Messi is fine,” the Barca coach said at a press conference on Monday.

“He is recovering from the big effort he put in on Saturday. He knows it (the miss) is part of the game, but he won’t let it affect him – there’s no time.”

Meanwhile, captain Carles Puyol misses Tuesday’s trip to Andalucia through injury, but Guardiola expects the defender to be back in time for the weekend match against Mallorca.

“When you are out for so many months – and he has been out for eight – sometimes you have to stop,” Guardiola explained.

“He only has a small problem and he should be fit to train again by Wednesday.”