Top 10 Best performances by Lionel Messi for Barcelona!
Lionel Messi, 6 times Ballon D'or winner, is undoubtedly the best Footballer on Earth. He has produced numerous fine performances over the year, thus choosing his top 10 performances is a kind of sin. Talking about a goal Messi himself said, "I’ve always measured my goals by the importance of them, not for the beauty. This was a very good goal but I have scored many others that have been more important to my teams."
10. Barcelona 7-1 Bayer Leverkusen (07/03/12).
5 goals in a Champions League game, yes 5 goals, Lionel Messi became the first player to have scored 5 goals in a Champions League game. He kept chipping away with goals, well literally, he scored 2 goals with a dink/chip over the goalkeeper. Barcelona went on to win the game 7-1. A hat trick within the first 49 minutes of play at the Camp Nou. This marked the first time in Champions League history that a single player had accounted for so many scores in a single game.
9. Barcelona 3-0 Athletic - Copa del Rey Final (30/05/2015).
This match ended 3-0, with Messi Scoring 2 goals. Barcelona's tactics for this game was fairly simple, Messi played at Right Wing as he normally does and then from there he mostly dropped into the midfield creating. This caused an imbalance in athletic midfield, he kept 2 or 3 Midfielders busy which left spaces vacant for others. When he stayed in the Right-Wing Position, he took on his markers, which lead to a brilliant 1st goal. The other was a well-drilled team goal finished off by Messi.8. Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid ( 23/04/2017) - El Classico.
This game was an iconic El Classico game played at Santiago Bernabeu. Struggling to replicate Real Madrid's success in the Champions League Messi had a point to prove. With Barcelona being 1 down and blood pouring out of Messi's nose, he took on the ball at the 32nd minute near the midfield and then marched towards the goal, passing his way there before dribbling past the defenders to Score. Again at the 91st minute, the score was 2-2, Jordi Alba out wide played a cut back towards the edge of the penalty area, where Messi arrived to score the winner. Dramatic.7. Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal FC ( 06/04/2010 ) - UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
In this game, Messi played as a pure No. 10. He used his dribbling to tease and then torment the Arsenal's defense. Nutmegs, skips, and fast feet movement of Messi allowed him to score 4 goals. A game that still haunts Arsenal's defenders to this date.‘He has made the impossible possible,’ gushed Wenger before comparing him to a computer-generated figure on PlayStation.
6. Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid ( 27/04/2011) - UEFA Champions League semi-final.
Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid was ready for Messi and their arch-rivals Barcelona but Messi had other plans. Messi was deployed as a midfielder to occupy the half-spaces. The first goal was scored by Barcelona due to the brilliant combinational play of Messi and David Villa.
The second however was pure magic by Messi. Commentators during the goal couldn't stop cherishing about him - "Away from 1, 2, 3, 4, oh wonderful wonderful wonderful, how good is he? How good is he?". It was truly a supernatural goal scored by Messi.
5. Barcelona 4-0 Bayern Munich ( 08/04/2009) - UEFA Champions League Quater-Final 1st Leg.
In this game, Messi started at Right Wing along with Henry and Samuel Eto'o as the front three. This match ended with a scoreline of 4-0 to Barcelona with Messi scoring 2 and assisting 1 goal. The second leg was a draw 1-1 and Barcelona ultimately progressed through.
4. Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United ( 27/05/09) - UEFA Champions League Final.
This match isn't about how many Messi scored but how well he played. Messi scored just the one goal but its gratitude was enormous. He ran Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, two of the best defenders of their time, in circles. At the 70th minute mark, Messi found space in between the defenders, he leaped up and scored a fine headed goal. Barcelona won the Champions League Final 2-0 courtesy of some great display by Messi.
3. Barcelona 6-2 Real Madrid ( 02/05/2009 ) - El Classico at Santiago Bernabeu.
Most of the Barcelona fans and Football fanatics would be familiar with the scoreline and the tactical aspect of this game. This was the famous false 9 - Messi game which made Football tacticians go berserk. The tactical analysis of this game was everywhere the next day. But the history before the game was important too. Real Madrid had picked up pace in the league, will the last 18 games with only 1 draw from 19, and was just 1 point behind Barca with just 5 games remain in the season. It was a real test of character for both the teams.
Messi playing at the center constantly dropped deep connection to the midfield. This move constantly created doubt in the minds of the defenders as to either stay in there place causing overload in midfield for Barca or follow him leaving space wide open behind him. All the Barcelona goals were a direct cause of Messi's Positional play and the confusion created by it. The game ended 6-2 with Messi scoring 2 and assisting 1 with numerous key passes.
2. Barcelona vs Bayern Munich (05 /05/ 2015) - Champions League Semi-final.
2014/15 Champions League Semi-Final, another big stage, and the big match player stepped up again. Bayern Munich came with a mindset to defend, they kept resisting Barcelona's attack with intent. With 77 minutes already gone something had to be done. Messi scored the much-needed opener with a fabulous strike from outside the box. Soon after breaking Bayern's Resistance, Messi again decided to produce another moment of magic, scoring the second for Barca at the 80th-minute mark. He wrong-footed Boateng, leaving him red-faced on the ground. He even ended the game by assisting Neymar with a goal at the 90th-minute mark.
1. Barcelona 3-3 Real Madrid ( 10/03/2007 ) - El Classico La Liga game.
Unlike most of the other matches on this list, this game had little significance for Barcelona. Real Madrid were the runaway leaders and Barca realistically had no chance of stopping them from winning the league. Barca didn't even win the game as the game ended 3-3 but this game was the start of a new era in Football. The 19-year-old Messi announced himself to the world in some style. This game showed everyone that Lionel Messi wasn't just a promising young talent but had the ability to win matches on his own.
Just like the league, Madrid dominated the game. Real Madrid went ahead 3 times but each time Lionel Messi dragged it back for Barca. He scored in the 11th minute making it 1-1 then again at 25th minute he made it 2-2. With the game poised at 3-2, Lionel Messi picked up the ball and dribbled past a group of defenders to score an absolute beauty in the extra time. It was probably the most important performance Messi has ever produced.
DO CHECK OUR ARTICLES
DO CHECK OUR ARTICLES
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Please don't post any spam links in the comments!