10 - Lionel Messi - v3

[DonAndres]

Not gonna lie, today's Messi seemed like lazy Messi. Not in the same connotation as 13/14 lazy Messi. It just took an enormously little amount of exertion from him to completely fuck up City's players. Those phenomenal megs looked so casual. He kept it static and slow whenever he felt like it and then accelerated if necessary. It was like leisurely calculations to decide which avenue he should take to humiliate the fuck out of Manchester City every time he had the ball. Even in defense he'd just stay in he perfect positions almost strolling until the ball somewhat entered his zone and he covered the space to perfection without much running. He's too good for football .

 

[Blaugrana Bull]

Was Lucho the first coach to put Messi back to RW and actually keep him there throughout the match? I recall a few games last season where Messi started off as an RW, but it was apparent 5 mins into the game that he kept going back into the mid.

Tata put him there in the first round of the league when we played against Real and won 2:1 iirc. It stopped Marcelo from going forward which was the plan but I think Leo was a bit less involved.

 

[DinhoR10]

Tata put him there in the first round of the league when we played against Real and won 2:1 iirc. It stopped Marcelo from going forward which was the plan but I think Leo was a bit less involved.

Yeah he was there but he didn't actually do anything in that game, he was also injured.

 

[Sepuldinho]

love this quote.

“Some players need penalties to feel like a God; others need penalties to feel human.”

 

[cmsy27]

Again, clearly on another planet from mere mortal footballers

Of course it would've been better if he'd added to the scoreline for all of his brilliant efforts, but Hart was very good at his post. I enjoyed the match but Hart's saves frustrated me more than a little. Either way, Messi's performance gives me great confidence heading into Clasico. :barca scarf:

 

[hellsangel1]

You think he has declined?

Messi put in a performance as an all round play maker tonight like he couldnt have two years ago.

He controlled the who tempo of Barcas game, speeding it up and slowing it down when required. He was sensational.

Its not all about goals.

Messi nowadays has to use his guile more, use more turns of pace by going slow and then fast or invite players into challenge (like he did against Milner on the nutmeg and then go past them). He has to use his guile more than his raw pace. Not to say that he is slow or average now in terms of his pace but just nowhere near as explosive. There were times particularly in the 2nd half where he was 1 on 1 and a couple of seasons ago he would've left that defender for dead. Teams had to put at least 2 guys in front of him or surround him in a cage in order to contain him at his absolute peak.........and even then he would score a boatload of gials. Even quick defenders like Pepe or Ramos couldn't deal with him 1 on 1.

His playmaking skills have always been there. He started off his career as a winger.He didn't show us anything that he couldn't have done a few years ago. He was always capable of providing great passes and assists (look at his assist for Villa's goal in the 5-0 demolition of Madrid at the Camp Nou and numerous others in his career). Anyways, I just wanted to put some perspective on all this. Maybe guys haven't seen a performance like this from Messi in some time but during Guardiola's era and most of Tito Vilanova, this would've been a very routine performance for him..... and he would've scored a couple of goals as well. It was a top performance from our players but I'm just saying that we shouldn't get over the top by beating a team that just lost to Burnley and was completely outplayed by a 10-men Bayern team at home. We're going to have to play better against Madrid and going forward in the CL . We didn't exactly beat an elite European team yesterday and they haven't been all that great in their domestic league for sometime now as well.

 

[Autumn]

Absolutely phenomenal.

Tonight almost feels like a miracle. So often in our modern football coverage with social media, we're bombarded with statistics; goals, shots, chances created, dribbles. Beauty is so often taken out of the game afterwards and everyone is reduced to simple comparable numbers. Tonight it was as if the world just threw those stat sheets out the window and for once appreciated the beauty of the game.

A game like that from Messi we can all just sit back and we "get" it. It's tough to communicate it and it's nearly impossible to quantify it. But we all know that it was truly special. You can see it in all the headlines afterwards, they all got it too.

It gives me hope to see the world be able to just sit back for once, forget the records, forget the goal tallies, and just simply watch and enjoy his unearthly skill.



We need more nights like this.

 

[Kerrybai]

Messi nowadays has to use his guile more, use more turns of pace by going slow and then fast or invite players into challenge (like he did against Milner on the nutmeg and then go past them). He has to use his guile more than his raw pace. Not to say that he is slow or average now in terms of his pace but just nowhere near as explosive. There were times particularly in the 2nd half where he was 1 on 1 and a couple of seasons ago he would've left that defender for dead. Teams had to put at least 2 guys in front of him or surround him in a cage in order to contain him at his absolute peak.........and even then he would score a boatload of gials. Even quick defenders like Pepe or Ramos couldn't deal with him 1 on 1.

His playmaking skills have always been there. He started off his career as a winger.He didn't show us anything that he couldn't have done a few years ago. He was always capable of providing great passes and assists (look at his assist for Villa's goal in the 5-0 demolition of Madrid at the Camp Nou and numerous others in his career). Anyways, I just wanted to put some perspective on all this. Maybe guys haven't seen a performance like this from Messi in some time but during Guardiola's era and most of Tito Vilanova, this would've been a very routine performance for him..... and he would've scored a couple of goals as well. It was a top performance from our players but I'm just saying that we shouldn't get over the top by beating a team that just lost to Burnley and should've lost to a 10-men Bayern team at home. We're going to have to play better against Madrid and going forward in the CL if we meet Bayern. We didn't exactly beat an elite European team yesterday and they haven't been all that great in their domestic league for sometime now as well.

1 - IMO his playmaking abilities are at a higher level now than that 5-0 game. Don;t get me wrong he was a greatplaymaker then but thoseover the top through balls he does now are just routine for him.

2 - Just had a look at the highlights from that 5-0, his pace looks pretty much the same, as does his acceleration, probably less explosive now than he was when he first made it into the first team though, I'll give you that much.

3 - I don't understand the part about goals, could you explain that? His goal conversion and his goals per game are higher now that they were duirng that Manita season.

 

[Vlom]

In the first half, Messi had only 2 succesfull dribbles less than the 21 other players on the field combined.

Enough said

 

[hellsangel1]

1 - IMO his playmaking abilities are at a higher level now than that 5-0 game. Don;t get me wrong he was a greatplaymaker then but thoseover the top through balls he does now are just routine for him.

2 - Just had a look at the highlights from that 5-0, his pace looks pretty much the same, as does his acceleration, probably less explosive now than he was when he first made it into the first team though, I'll give you that much.

3 - I don't understand the part about goals, could you explain that? His goal conversion and his goals per game are higher now that they were duirng that Manita season.

1. His playmaking abilities were always there but he was just played in a different position and with Xavi and Iniesta at their peak, he didn't need to come back that often and be involved with build-up play as much as he does now because we needed Messi in a different role,but his ability to provide great passes and assists has always been there. Even the year he set the record for goals, I believe he was also the top assist leader(unless I'm mistaken) despite the fact that we had a misfiring and much weaker front line.

2. We'll just to have agree to disagree on the acceleration part. He's still quicker than the vast majority of players but I would say that he was much more explosive.

3. He needs more assists from his frontline and his goals are more closer to the box I feel now (more tap-ins I think). At his absolute peak, he would take the ball at the edge of the goal and dribble past a couple of players and slot it in. He could score more fantastic individual goals and with the amount of space available for Barca and Messi as the match progressed he would've scored a hat-trick in the second half all by himself. Listen it was a great performance by Leo but compared to the Messi of a couple of seasons ago I would not give it higher than an 8 out of 10. That;s just my opinion because I didn't feel that we played against a really great (atleast in CL) or in-form side yesterday.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

10/10.

 

[Kerrybai]

1. His playmaking abilities were always there but he was just played in a different position and with Xavi and Iniesta at their peak, he didn't need to come back that often and be involved with build-up play as much as he does now because we needed Messi in a different role,but his ability to provide great passes and assists has always been there. Even the year he set the record for goals, I believe he was also the top assist leader(unless I'm mistaken) despite the fact that we had a misfiring and much weaker front line.

2. We'll just to have agree to disagree on the acceleration part. He's still quicker than the vast majority of players but I would say that he was much more explosive.

3. He needs more assists from his frontline and his goals are more closer to the box I feel now (more tap-ins I think). At his absolute peak, he would take the ball at the edge of the goal and dribble past a couple of players and slot it in. He could score more fantastic individual goals and with the amount of space available for Barca and Messi as the match progressed he would've scored a hat-trick in the second half all by himself. Listen it was a great performance by Leo but compared to the Messi of a couple of seasons ago I would not give it higher than an 8 out of 10. That;s just my opinion because I didn't feel that we played against a really great (atleast in CL) or in-form side yesterday.

In the 5-0 against Madrid he didn't score but as you say that Messi should have had a hat trick right?

Messi I don't get that part about Messi dribbling several players and scoring compared to now having more tap ins?

This is 10-11

This is 14-15

Both videos have easy goals, while the first one perhaps has a couple of more dribbling golazo's. Still though the bottom video has a couple of great dribbles too, in fact his dibbling this season has been immense. I think now he is more inclined to end a dribble with a pass as he is handing the scoring mantle over to his partners.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. One thing I will say is that Nostalgia can cloud your perception. Often when I think back on past Messi I might think he was better then... then I'll watch a game from the past and see that he was pretty much the same.

 

[Richard.H]

How many goals in all competitions does he have so far? 45?

Do you guys think he'll be able to reach 50 in la liga alone or would that be a stretch?

 

[hellsangel1]

We'll just have to agree to disagree. One thing I will say is that Nostalgia can cloud your perception. Often when I think back on past Messi I might think he was better then... then I'll watch a game from the past and see that he was pretty much the same.

Maybe you're right a little bit but that has a lot to do with the fact that Messi has set such ridiculously high standards.

 

[LordLichtenstein]

How many goals in all competitions does he have so far? 45?

Do you guys think he'll be able to reach 50 in la liga alone or would that be a stretch?