Remembering Lionel Messi’s best 20 minutes of his career

Barcelona are finalizing preparations for their all important first leg vs. Liverpool on Wednesday when they’ll kick off a mouthwatering Champions League semifinal matchup against Liverpool.

Despite being a routine footballing Goliath, and a historically good run of domestic success, the Catalan club haven’t made it to this stage of Europe’s premier club competition since 2015 when they won the UEFA Champions League (and the treble, for good measure).

Barcelona’s last three Champions League campaigns have been characterized by quarterfinal flops — they lost to Atletico Madrid in 2016, Juventus in 2017, and famously, Roma in 2018 when they squandered a 4-1 aggregate lead to lose on away goals.

Point being, it’s been four years since Lionel Messi has played in a Champions League semifinal at the Camp Nou, a drought which will end when he takes the field tonight versus Liverpool.

It is worth remembering his last performance at this stage, at home– arguably the finest showing of Messi’s absurdly excellent career.

The date was May 6, 2015. Barcelona were taking on Bayern Munich in Leg One. Barcelona, similarly to this season, hadn’t made it to the final of the Champions League since 2011 when they took home the title by defeating Manchester United in the final.

The stakes of this match were unusually high for three reasons. Firstly, the occasion — while domestic success is nice, the Champions League is truly the bar that separates the good teams from the great teams.

Secondly, there was retribution in the air — Bayern famously annihilated Barcelona by a 7-0 aggregate score just two years before, before going onto win the title themselves. It was a rude awakening for a Barcelona team that lacked serious bite, against a Bayern side playing with typical German ruthlessness and efficiency.

Thirdly, it was a homecoming of sorts for Bayern manager Pep Guardiola, a Barcelona club legend both as a player and manager. Barca had been unable, in the years following Guardiola’s departure, to recapture the Champions League after winning it under his management in both 2009 and 2011.

With the stakes set high, it was evident that Barcelona’s outstanding front three of Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar would have to propel the Catalans past a Bayern team that had shamed them two years earlier.

What followed was, arguably, the best 20 minutes of Lionel Messi’s career.

The first 76 minutes of the match were tense, with each side failing to break down the other. Each side had a golden chance in the first half. Luis Suarez had a brilliant one-on-one opportunity against Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on the counter attack, but the German shot stopper denied the Uruguayan forward.

On the other end, a masked Robert Lewandowski scuffed a beautiful Thomas Muller cross that surely would have flown past a sprawled Marc-Andre Ter Stegen had it been hit cleanly.

Finally, in minute 77, a breakthrough. A careless piece of dribbling by Bayern left back Juan Bernat saw the defender get dispossessed by Barca right back Dani Alves who found Messi on the right hand side. Messi took a touch, and then, with a precision that even the most experienced sniper would be envious of, Messi ripped a low curled effort that beat Neuer (who at this point was, almost objectively, the world’s best goalkeeper) at his near post to give Barca the lead.

SEE MORE: Schedule of UEFA Champions League games on US TV and streaming

It was a magnificent goal despite it stemming from a defensive effort from Bernat. The awareness from Alves to pick the Spaniard’s pocket and to find Messi, and the magic man did the rest — it cannot be understated how difficult it is to beat a goalkeeper with Neuer’s frame at his near post, especially from outside the box. Messi made it look easy.

It took only three minutes for Barca to double their lead with a goal that will be remembered as one of Messi’s finest. Despite all his goals, only a handful are remotely comparable to this stroke of genius.

Ivan Rakitić found Messi on the right channel in space, and Messi went right at Jerome Boateng (who, similar to Neuer was one of the finest, if not the finest player at his position in world football).

Messi shimmied Boateng, leaning left before darting right, a movement so quick and controlled that it made the German defender twist and fall to the ground, seemingly paralyzed by the physics-defining shift in gravity. Messi left Boateng broken and helplessly laying on the grass, in his wake, before dinking an onrushing Neuer with a chip as audacious as it was beautiful.

It was the sort of goal that was stunning not just because of the skill — yes, the dribbling was amazing, the quick move on Boateng genius, and the chip daring — but the way that Messi embarrassed arguably the best center back and the best goalkeeper on Earth gave this goal another level.

As Martin Tyler put it from the gantry…

“It’s astonishing. It is absolutely world class… he’s taken them apart.”

And then:

“Only football can make you feel like this.”

A fair point. Seeing Messi’s second goal against Bayern was like seeing van Gogh himself paint the Starry Night, or Francis Ford Coppola direct The Godfather, or Einstein deducing the theory of relativity. You felt like you were genuinely witnessing a genius that was unrivaled amongst his peers, and that goal (which, coincidentally, put him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo amongst the all time leaders in Champions League goals) showed just how immense the gap was between Messi and literally anyone else on earth.

A 2-0 deficit meant that Bayern had to begin to really chase the game, in search of an all important away goal to take back to Allianz Arena. As conventional football goes, when a team presses forward, they leave gaps at the back for teams to counter, which is just what Barcelona were able to do.

In the 94th minute, Luis Suarez picked up the ball in midfield before getting ripped to the ground by a Bayern player, but he nudged the ball to Messi, who took a touch and, with vision that Xavi and Iniesta would be proud of, slipped the ball through two Bayern defenders to Neymarwho sprinted past a hapless Mats Hummels before slotting past Neuer to make it 3-0.

“Chasing the away goal has cost Bayern dear,” mused Tyler. “Conclusive.”

Conclusive it was. Barcelona won the game 3-0, and even though they lost the second leg 3-2, a 5-3 aggregate triumph saw them into the semifinals where they dispatched Juventus 3-1 to win the trophy.

It’s been four years since Messi has played a home semifinal game in the Champions League, and if his last performance (and current supernova form) is any indicator, we could be in for a real treat at the Camp Nou on Wednesday evening.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2WhBhJx

Where to find Barcelona vs. Liverpool Champions League on US TV and streaming

If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Barcelona vs. Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League, you’ve come to the right place.

Turner and Univision’s coverage of the UEFA club competitions continues Wednesday with their broadcast of Barcelona vs. Liverpool. FOX Sports no longer has the rights, so if you want to watch the game on TV in English, TNT is the way to go.

Match: Barcelona vs. Liverpool

Kickoff: Wednesday, 3pm ET

Looking to watch Barcelona vs. Liverpool online from your work, home or on the go? If you live in the USA, there are several options to catch all the action.

We Recommend:

US Only.

Here are all of the details of where you can watch it on television and via legal streaming:

Who: Barcelona vs. Liverpool
What: UEFA Champions League semifinal, 1st leg
When: Game kicks off at 3pm ET / Noon PT; Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Where: Live on TNT, Univision, Univision Deportes Network, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV and B/R Live

With fuboTV, you can watch Barcelona vs. Liverpool and tons more UEFA Champions League games with a 7-day trial. With the legal streaming service, you can watch the game on your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, Apple TV or hook it up to your TV with Google Chromecast.

Now with fuboTV, you can stream Galavision, TNT, NBCSN, FS1, FS2 as well as beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, beIN SPORTS Connect, NBC (in select cities), CNBC, USA, FOX (in select cities), FOX Soccer Plus, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports Net, Telemundo, Univision, Univision Deportes, UniMas, Eleven Sports, CBS, CSN, RAI Italia and YES.

Plus fuboTV, the legal streaming service, also streams Serie A, La Liga, Liga MX, World Cup, Women’s World Cup, MLS, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Primeira Liga, Ligue Un, World Cup qualifiers, Bundesliga, select USMNT games, select USWNT games, select Mexico games, select England games and Euro 2020 qualifiers.

The fuboTV app is available for Windows PC, Mac, Apple iPhone, Apple iPad, Apple TV, Android smartphones, Android tablets, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Kindle.

 

Here are the steps to take to watch the Barcelona vs. Liverpool game with your free fuboTV trial:

1. Click on this link for the fuboTV 7-day trial.

2. Click on the red ‘Start for free’ button (see screengrab below)

3. On the login page, enter your e-mail address to sign up (or you can use your Facebook or Google logins) (see screengrab below)

4. After entering your login details and signing up for the free trial, you’ll be taken to the fuboTV main screen (see screengrab below)

5. From here, you can either scroll down the page to see the TV listings which include the Barcelona vs. Liverpool game (see screengrab below)

6. Or you can click on the ‘Guide’ button at the top to see all of the channels available to you, which will include TNT featuring Barcelona vs. Liverpool (see screengrab below)

SEE MORE: Schedule of Champions League games on US TV and streaming

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2J5yUWv

‘I made a mistake’: Pochettino takes blame but slams ‘sloppy’ Spurs

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino took his share of the blame for “sloppy” Tottenham’s 1-0 Champions League semi-final first leg defeat against Ajax after admitting he used the wrong tactics.

Pochettino’s side made a dismal start as Donny van de Beek put Ajax ahead after just 15 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.

Ajax dominated the first half until Pochettino completely changed his game-plan by switching from a 3-5-2 formation to a 4-4-2 system.

Aided by the introduction of Moussa Sissoko for the injured Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham regained a measure of control without ever hurting Ajax with their long-ball barrage.

Pochettino conceded he had blundered with his game-plan, but the Tottenham manager was also angry with the lethargic way his players started the club’s first European Cup semi-final for 57 years.

“Watching now of course I can accept it was a mistake the shape we used. But there were not too many options,” Pochettino told BT Sport.

“I am not happy. But our lack of energy from the beginning made our game difficult. We were a little sloppy.

“It was not the shape that conceded the goal. Our approach to the game was not good. I am the manager so I have responsibility.”

Tottenham were hamstrung by the absence of injured striker Harry Kane and suspended forward Son Heung-min.

But Sissoko’s dynamic contribution and the return of Son for next week’s second leg in Amsterdam give Pochettino hope they can still reach the final.

“After we conceded the goal, 25 to 30 minutes in, we started to be in the game. Moussa Sissoko provided good energy,” he said.

“Second half we pushed them and tried to create chances. It was an even game in the second half. 

“We are alive. It’s only 1-0 down. We need to believe we can go there and win the game.”

It remains to be seen whether Vertonghen will be fit for the return after the centre-back appeared to suffer a concussion in a clash with team-mate Toby Alderweireld.

Vertonghen went off for treatment, but was then surprisingly sent back onto the pitch by Tottenham’s medical staff.

He looked groggy and on the verge of throwing up before being helped down the tunnel after signalling he couldn’t continue.

Asked about the severity of Vertonghen’s problem, Pochettino only said: “I didn’t see him. Of course, we will assess him in the next few days.”

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2ZPEkdU

‘We were under par’: Eriksen admits Spurs flopped in Ajax loss

London (AFP) – Christian Eriksen admitted Tottenham were well below their best as Ajax seized the initiative with a 1-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side were out-classed in the first half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and fell behind to Donny van de Beek’s 15th minute strike.

Tottenham were slightly better in the second half, but Ajax remained the more cohesive team and could have added a second goal when David Neres hit a post in the closing stages.

Denmark playmaker Eriksen was one of many Tottenham stars who failed to shine on the night and he conceded it was far from their best display.

“We were under-par, we didn’t play our best at all. In the first 20 minutes, we were ball-watchers. We need to change it up a lot for the next game,” Eriksen told BT Sport.

“We made them look a lot better. They are a good side, but we helped them along the way. It was our fault. We were better in the second half.

“No one wanted to play the first half we did. Everyone knew we didn’t compete. We still lost, but we were better in the second half.”

Tottenham’s cause wasn’t helped by the absence of injured leading scorer Harry Kane and suspended forward Son Heung-min.

But Eriksen insisted Tottenham shouldn’t use that as an excuse.

“We can’t keep talking about injured players. In a semi-final it doesn’t matter who plays, we have to step up,” he said.

“At the start, the system didn’t matter. The change gave us a different way to press, to play more direct. But we were still far from where we know we can be.”

Only one of the 17 previous teams to lose the first leg at home in a European Cup semi-final has progressed into the final — ironically Ajax in 1995-96.

Tottenham will have Son back from his ban for the second leg and Eriksen said it could have been much worse for the side going into the decisive return in Amsterdam next week.

“We’re lucky they hit the post and hopefully we can turns things around in Amsterdam,” he added.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2IRMrle

Bristol City hit back to keep play-off hopes alive

London (AFP) – Bristol City kept alive their slender hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs as Famara Diedhiou’s late goal sealed a 2-1 win at Millwall on Tuesday.

Lee Johnson’s side fell behind when Millwall striker Lee Gregory volleyed the 41st minute opener after being set up by Steve Morison.

Millwall could have doubled their lead when Morison and Gregory combined again and the Lions’ goalscorer was clipped by City goalkeeper Max O’Leary for a penalty.

But Shaun Williams’ spot-kick was saved by O’Leary and City equalised through Jamie Paterson in the 76th minute before Diedhiou won it five minutes later.

City are in eighth place, one point behind sixth placed Derby, who hold the last play-off berth and have a game in hand at Swansea on Wednesday.

A Derby win in south Wales would end City’s play-off bid before Johnson’s team play their last game of the season at Hull on Sunday.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2J5mDBp

Three things we learned from Tottenham v Ajax

London (AFP) – Ajax beat Tottenham 1-0 in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

Here AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:

Pochettino comes back down to earth

Speaking ahead of the first leg, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino challenged his players to “set your dreams to infinity and beyond” as he looked to lead the club to their first European Cup final.

But Pochettino’s amusing decision to reference the catchphrase of Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear wasn’t the most significant of his pre-match comments.

Complaining about Tottenham having to play West Ham on Saturday while Ajax benefitted from having their domestic match postponed, Pochettino admitted his players looked “stressed and fatigued” during the 1-0 defeat against West Ham.

It was the same again against Ajax as the Dutch youngsters looked far more energetic and composed, while Tottenham were largely a damp squib in their first European Cup semi-final for 57 years.

After watching Ajax give his side the runaround in the first 25 minutes, Pochettino came to the touchline with a bewildered expression, telling his players to switch from a 3-5-2 formation to a 4-4-2 system in a bid to restore order.

But Tottenham’s plight was summed up by the sight of Jan Vertonghen covered in blood and on the verge of throwing up on the side of the pitch after the defender was forced off with what looked like a concussion following an accidental clash with team-mate Toby Alderweireld.

The introduction of Moussa Sissoko as Vertonghen’s replacement gave Tottenham more bite, but it wasn’t enough to stop the north Londoners crashing back down to earth.

Spurs lack cutting edge

With top goalscorer Harry Kane injured and South Korea forward Son Heung-min suspended, Tottenham were painfully short of quality up front.

Kane and Son were watching from the stands as Brazilian Lucas Moura started alongside Fernando Llorente in Tottenham’s attack.

But neither understudy was able to do a convincing imitation of their absent team-mates and Tottenham were fatally undermined as a result.

It didn’t help their cause that Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, Tottenham’s two playmakers, were well below their best as well.

Trailing in the first half, Llorente, unmarked and just eight yards out, had a golden chance to equalise when he headed woefully wide.

Llorente was targeted with a flood of long balls and crosses as Pochettino tried to bludgeon Ajax into submission, but the Spaniard got little change out of Ajax’s well-marshalled defence.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2IRxqQq

Coach hails ‘unbelievable’ Sundowns as they join Pirates at top

Johannesburg (AFP) – Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane hailed his “unbelievable” team after they won 2-1 at Black Leopards Tuesday to join Orlando Pirates at the top of the South African Premiership with two rounds left.

Mosimane was referring to the mental strength of his players after they arrived in South Africa from Morocco only on Monday and made the long journey to northeastern town Thohoyandou.

“No other club in South Africa has a schedule like ours. We had a CAF Champions League semi-final in Morocco last Friday and four days later we are in a remote area of South Africa.

“While we are constantly travelling by road and air, our opponents are often well rested, fresher and capable of running us into the ground. 

“That is why this victory over Leopards was so special. They were quicker than us, especially to the loose ball, but we managed the match superbly.

“I have so much respect for my players and am humbled to be in charge of such a wonderful bunch of dedicated professionals.”

While two club fixtures a week is common worldwide, Africa presents unique challenges because many roads are in poor condition and flying is complicated by a shortage of direct routes.

Sundowns flew via Qatar to Morocco for the Champions League first leg against Wydad Casablanca, which they lost 2-1, and the return match is this Saturday near Pretoria.

A fifth league goal this season from Uruguayan Gaston Sirino and a first from Tebogo Langerman earned defending champions Sundowns victory over brave but limited Leopards.

Lesotho international Tumelo Khutlang scored two minutes into stoppage time for the hosts, who are third from bottom and battling to avoid relegation.

Sirino punished a weakly-headed back pass from Leopards Congolese captain Jean Djunga Munganga to prod the ball past goalkeeper King Ndlovu for a 28th-minute lead.

After coming close in the opening half, Langerman scored on 68 minutes, with a smart run off the ball giving him the space and time to net via a scorching shot.

Leopards’ star striker Mwape Musonda retired injured just before the hour, taking much of the sting from the attack, and it took 92 minutes before Khutlang netted after a scramble.  

Sundowns’ victory sets the stage for a thrilling climax to the Premiership season as Pirates lead on goal difference — plus 17 to plus 13. Bidvest Wits are third, five points behind.

from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2ITW3vx