Are hard rocks the reason for Lionel Messi's penalty struggle?

Up to 2015 Lionel Messi missed 10 penalty kicks at the North Goal end of Camp Nou. on the other hand, he missed just one at the South Goal end.

Albert Ventayol, a geotechnical geologist and member of the College of Geologists of Catalonia suggests the answer lies in the peculiarity of the terrain that the pitch is based on.

In Earth and Geology journal No 52 published by the college, Ventayol explained: “The North Goal is based on slate, limestone and other hard rocks from the Palaeozoic age, covered by quaternary sediments, while at the South Goal end the substrate consists of more recent bluish clays.”

The info was collected during the expansion works for Espai Barca where more than 60 surveys and geophysical and geotechnical studies on the geology of the Camp Nou were carried out. 

"Messi's nightmare is the deep Paleozoic substrate," joked the geologist. "Messi feels better playing on clay grounds."