Messi misses .. Valverde demands Griezmann to do and exert more

Barcelona will continue to play without their top scorer Lionel Messi after the Argentine was left out of the squad for his first home league game this season against Real Betis due to a calf injury.

Messi missed Barcelona's 1-0 defeat at home to Athletic Bilbao in the opening game of the season and did not play in the final training session before facing Betis, who were the only team to win the Nou Camp last season.

The captain continued his absence, adding to Barcelona's attacking deficit as Luis Suarez and Osman Dembele walked away due to muscle injuries.

"We cannot afford to back down even a single step," Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde told a news conference. If he were not 100 percent ready, we would not take any risk for him.

The loss of Messi's efforts to put more responsibility on Barcelona's 120 million euro Antoine Griezmann, who made his debut against Bilbao without leaving a mark.
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