The assist to Gerard Pique was a mistake– Lionel Messi

The Argentine scored a goal and assisted another.

The victory against PSV Eindhoven was just another day in the office for Barcelona, who will be gunning for a better finish in this season's UEFA Champions League than the one in their previous campaign. Although, the Dutch outfit started off in a positive note, threatening the Spanish defence countless times, it was the LaLiga side who finished the match with a 2-1 win thereby progressing to the knockout stage.

Skipper Lionel Messi put in another talismanic performance, with a goal and assist. The Blaugrana icon was his team's main threat, in an otherwise average performance by rest of his teammates.

You know I don’t like to mention Messi too often but he does play a game of which the rest of us are not familiar: pic.twitter.com/56zQLv5Rgq

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 28, 2018

Former Barca striker Gary Lineker showered Messi with praise once again

The Argentine genius was at his mercurial best, threatening the Dutch side with almost every run in the final third. Although it was his assist to defender Gerard Pique which caught the eye.

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What looked like a cross from the captain, Messi curled in a 70th-minute freekick to Gerard Pique, who scored and increased the lead for his side. The former Spanish defender also claimed that the set-piece was rehearsed in training. 

Watch: PSV 1-2 Barcelona

According to ESPN, Messi clarified that the free-kick wasn't 'rehearsed' but was the result of a poor delivery from him, which Pique converted with much aplomb. He told Movistar, "It was a poorly taken free kick, but luckily Pique was there. He saw [the ball] and he took advantage of the situation."

Let's be honest with each other, even if Messi had hooked that free-kick to Pique on purpose, we would still have believed all due to his sheer footballing capability. Although, Messi is not lying about it. Nevertheless, it seems like the Argentine is serious about getting the UCL title for Barcelona, with some breathtaking performances in the group fixtures.