Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has called for more patience with regard to the Philippe Coutinho situation.

The Argentine scored a splendid free-kick as part of his brace and the celebration that followed was a signal to the fans, asking them to stop whistling at out-of-touch Coutinho.

The Brazilian – who has been poor this season – had a sub-par game against his former club and was taken off close to the hour mark. This prompted a series of boos and jeers from the Camp Nou crowd who have not shied away from expressing their displeasure at the winger.

But Messi prefers that the fans and players stay united at a time like this.

“This is a time when we have to be more united than ever, both as players and fans,” he said at full-time,” according to Marca.

“It is not the time to criticise anyone. The whistles against Coutinho are ugly. We have to be together.”

“Four would’ve been better than three but it’s still a very good result,” Messi added.

“3-0 is a very good result. The tie is not decided because we are going to a historical stadium and it will demand a lot, but we are very satisfied.”

“It went in spectacularly well; I saw the spot and luckily enough, that’s where it went,” said Messi.