Lionel "The Greatest of All Time" Messi

[Givenchy]

I'd never write him off but don't think he'll hit the heights many are expecting. He'll take it easy in Ligue 1 (won't be surprised if he actually accepts resting games) and focus mainly on CL and preparing for the World cup imo.

 

[Mitchell1978]

I always expected there to be some time before his fully settled in with PSG.

Even with MSN when Messi was at or near his peak it took months for MSN to full click.

 

[JohnN]

1 game and another 30 min cameo.

And to be honest, he looked better than most of psgs players so not all that bad. That team though needs a lot of work to become one of the best. They do have great players, so I expect them to click at some point.

 

[Bobo32]

Him, and PSG, looked spectacular in the beginning of the game yesterday. Very nice shot to the crossbar, and a great assistworthy pass for Mbappe I think it was, from Messi. Then I stopped watching after a while, but to me they looked like they're correctly the favourites this year

 

[akaranzo]

Him, and PSG, looked spectacular in the beginning of the game yesterday. Very nice shot to the crossbar, and a great assistworthy pass for Mbappe I think it was, from Messi. Then I stopped watching after a while, but to me they looked like they're correctly the favourites this year

I thought they looked really dysfunctional. From the beginning of the game it didn't seem like they had any real plan on place. Almost every attack ended with Messi/Neymar trying some exceptional dribble/pass that didn't work out cause both are not in the best form. Everyone else just stared and watched (apart from Nuno Mendes who was great when he came on). Their goal also came from a moment of brilliance from Mbappe. Honestly they were closer to losing the game yesterday than winning it.

 

[Rassvet]

His performance was good individually. What worried me is how PSG suddenly started having some of the same collective disfunction that Barca had with Messi but was blamed on all the other players. Maybe it's time to accept that current Messi can do great things individually but is no longer one of the best in actually making a team better.

 

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

His performance was good individually. What worried me is how PSG suddenly started having some of the same collective disfunction that Barca had with Messi but was blamed on all the other players. Maybe it's time to accept that current Messi can do great things individually but is no longer one of the best in actually making a team better.

second match with messi, they need to learn how to play with him. For example alba knew when messi had the ball in the middle of the pitch he started to run, psg players dont know it yet.

 

[soul24rage]

His performance was good individually. What worried me is how PSG suddenly started having some of the same collective disfunction that Barca had with Messi but was blamed on all the other players. Maybe it's time to accept that current Messi can do great things individually but is no longer one of the best in actually making a team better.

The problem was that PSG had a hard time getting the ball out of their half. Herrera and Gini are the not players who can get out of a press. I'd be worried if PSG still looks dysfunctional with Veratti in the team.

 

[JohnN]

Funny how Argentina did pretty good with Messi but other teams turn "dissfunctional" with him.
Trolls keep on trolling

 

[Horatio]

The problem was that PSG had a hard time getting the ball out of their half. Herrera and Gini are the not players who can get out of a press. I'd be worried if PSG still looks dysfunctional with Veratti in the team.

Most players had a howler of a game. Not only midfield sucked(but true, team suffered most because of this) but Marquinhos was awful and even Hakimi subpar. Team will come around when players hit better form + Verratti returns. Gini should never play again in big games, but Poch will find out soon enough.

 

[NotInHere]

Messi played fine, as long as he doesn't become complecant or drop his shoulders on the pitch he should still be the same Messi we all love.

Way different than Ronaldo who can just proach. People just love to compare, but I just love Messi play, watching Ronaldo is like watching paint dry.

 

[Jadentheman]

Just a friendly reminder that MSN didn't get the ground running immediately. It wasn't till the later half of the season when they really clicked. PSG team is still getting used to Messi. Messi and Neymar are trying to find their spark connection again (which wasn't too bad what I seen in that game, I saw moments), and the players will be sharper.

Messi didn't play badly, but he did play more reserved.

 

[akaranzo]

Funny how Argentina did pretty good with Messi but other teams turn "dissfunctional" with him.
Trolls keep on trolling

Nobody here has said PSG was dysfunctional because of Messi. I think most agree that Messi played pretty well. It's down to Pochettino's tactics, he has to find a way to link the midfield to the attack better because that part of PSG's game just wasn't working.

 

[BBZ8800]

Some say that he started to drop deep after 2015.
But he is dropping deep since 1999'

https://youtu.be/yT7yw-vqKNA

Some will say that he had bad midfielders in this match so he had to drop deep.

 

[Altomonte]

Messi = Federer

Ronaldo = Nadal

Lewandowski = Djokovic

Rassvet, there are several flaws in your comparison:
1. Federer is older than Nadal - Messi younger than Ronaldo
2. Lewandowski is not in same category as Messi and Nadal, but Djokovic definitely is a contender for Tennis GOAT


3. There is no tennis category for dribbling and passing, it is all about winning and losing. Comparing the number of scored goals to the number of tennis match wins is therefore leaving out an important soccer statistic.

It may be better to compare soccer to basketball.
Ronaldo and Lewandowski are power forwards while Messi is a high scoring point guard.