Lionel MESSI scores twice for Barcelona in win against Liverpool

By
Roy Nemer
-
71

Lionel MESSI scored twice for FC Barcelona in their 3-0 win against Liverpool.

Another big European night and another massive show by Lionel MESSI. The FC Barcelona captain was at the end of a loose ball and scored an open net to make it 2-0 for Barcelona.

MESSI’s second goal of the match was nothing short of world class. A free kick into the corner of the net was goal number 600 of Lionel MESSI’s Barcelona career.

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71 Comments

  1. Ansaldi played brilliant vs Juve.His passes in penalty box looks like Messi’s pass.When he has the ball,Torino really looks like a threat.Tagliafico is good but for attacking threat Ansaldi is better.Scaloni should select him.His ball controll,pace,dribbling long or short passes shooting all are excellent.

    • Totally agree. Ansaldi is a real offensive threat. Its a shame he hasnt been used more. He is also two footed, he could be tried on the right.

  2. Watching juventus Vs Torino.. Ansaldi is just excellent..his running dribbling defending thru ball and even shooting is just beyond superb…I think he also play as no.5 or as a defensive midfielder..he has lot to offer for Argentina national team..I hope he will get a call from scaloni..

  3. This under 20 coach Batista
    Is really odd man how the f…k
    He left thiago almada and balerdi
    from under 20s Squad for world cup
    Argentina always some good players
    Left out for major tournaments
    Weather is the senior or junior teams.

      • Balerdi doesn’t get minutes at Dortmund and barely has gotten a sniff with the reserves. He’s not that good right now. Just because he’s in Europe doesn’t mean squat.

    • more or less he take the expected players.
      i am not generally make critic to the children because for me it is not the important thing in this age team.
      it is mirror a little bit for the future but even that is not clear because everything is depend of the children.
      if they work hard they can improve as much to accomplish great things with national team and in the big European clubs.

      if they stay only in the talent and stop work hard then we will see again and again the old same story
      of disappear the players that we thought they suppose to be the “new Maradona” or the “new Messi”.

      i want to see one team in Poland that will give me hope for the future of our big team.
      this is first i want personally.
      if they don t win the cup of u20 world cup but i will see one team that playing something good and specific then i will be happy personally.
      i don t want to win cup and in end all those players disappear and never play in big national team for one or other reason.

  5. I think Argentina’s best/safest lineup/formation for the Copa is 4-4-2 (already confirmed by Scaloni)

    ……………..Romero……………
    Saravia….. Pezz ….. Ota… Tag
    ……………….Guido………………
    Pereyra………………………De Paul
    …………….Lo Celso………….
    ………Messi………Aguero

    Di Maria can replace De Paul but I am not sure that would be the best idea as he loves venturing forward like he’s a striker/winger. Di Maria, IMO, is not disciplined enough to play at this stage of his career.

    Every team needs a Pereyra/Vidal type player. He runs hard and plays hard. Very disciplined. Good energy and decent scorer.

    Guido or Battaglia is interchangeable. Not sure if Batta has recovered yet. Palacio can play where De Paul is too.

    • I love this diamond midfield. Lo Celso is converted to a 10 than a 8 so he’s good at the top of the diamond. However, he need to learn how to roam position with Messi as Lio will likely not always stick upfront.

  6. I just hope Scaloni keeps it simple and just sticks with the basic 4-4-2. GK (No idea); RB Saravia, CB Pezzella, CB Otamendi, LB Tagliafico; DM Guido Rodriguez, CM Lo Celso, LMF De Paul, RMF A. Correa; SS Messi, CF Lautaro.

    • If you dropped correa for Pereyra I think you would get the line up I am leaning towards the most. And I am fairly certain Scaloni will go with something similar to this. Very basic ideas. Some days though I end up thinking if you’re gonna play with 4 mids might as well play parades at the base. It’s only in the 3 mid situation where he gets exposed.

      • I don’t have a problem with Pereyra instead of A. Correa. As for Paredes, I don’t know, I think Lo Celso offers a lot more energy, running and dynamism in general, not to mention his goal scoring abilities as well as defensive contribution. I would still keep Paredes in the squad but don’t see how he starts in our midfield.

  7. As Barca Played with 4-4-2 After the substitution Of Coutinho, Barcelona played with more stability than earlier when Liverpool were Gegenpressing(Very High Press). Barca had less possesion and hit them hard on counter attack 2 times.
    Scaloni should learn from that. Argentina don’t have players with Good Control on Ball atleast like Barcelona Players so we cannot rely on possesion based football. Atleast the players can try to play High Pressure football show some balls run their ass off and hit other teams on counter attack.
    The only players I think should have 100% place in NT are Messi, Aguero up front and Otamendi at LCB as he is very hard working and passionate.
    Pezzella showed his leadership skills but his form with Fiorentina is decent but I dont mind him at RCB too or maybe Garay.
    Full Backs depends on Scaloni. Personally I would like Tagliafico and Saravia but Jonathan Silva is decent too.
    The most important thing is midfield 4. PLay those who are Passionate those who wanna play for the Badge. I am saying this and you can hate me for that but I don’t like to see Paredes starting. I watched most of his PSG games dude has ruined himself in Russia.
    Play a hard working Destroyer like Guido and a Game reading Regista like Banega or play Exequiel Palacios/Marcone or maybe Lo Celso but his playing position with Betis worries me.
    Two wide midfielders I will take De Paul he plays at left with Udinese but he can play on both sides highly versatile highly creative Awesome long passes we are lucky we have him just he should play in NT like he plays with Udinese. Di Maria on left/ De Paul on Right or De Paul on left/ A Correa on right.
    THESE ARE ONLY MY PERSONAL OPINIONS :-))))))

    • maybe a 4-2-3-1 suits us well .
      Aguero
      De Paul(Dimaria ) – Lo Celso – Messi
      Ascacibar – Palacios

      – I personally like Pity . But I think his MLS landing has got messy & may take time to get back to form . De Paul for now.
      – I would still go with Ascacibar who is an ideal destroyer . His short height shouldn’t be reason to drop. Guido can be a sub to him .
      – A Correa & Dybala are the impact subs upfront . Lautaro is Aguero’s sub. With the latest photoshot of Icardi , I jus don’t want him anywhere near NT. He seems a guy who will always create needless controversies.
      – I think Pezella – Otamendi will be a good CB pair & Kannemann /Romero /Foyth will be decent backups. Foyth as a DM also is an innovative idea.

      • herez my 23 & we play 4-2-3-1

        Aguero
        DePaul – LoCelso – Messi
        Ascacibar – Palacios
        Tagliafico – Pezella – Otamendi- Saravia
        Romero

        Subs
        GK – Armani , Gazzaniga
        Def – Acuna, Kannemann, CRomero, Montiel
        Mid – Guido , Zaracho (Pererya) , Parades
        Attack – ACorrea , Dybala , Lautaro

        Reserves ( for injury replacement ) – DiMaria , Foyth, MSuarez, Pity Martinez

  8. Do we have any pacy quality wingers in the local leagues or in euorpe…what about j correa..his finishing is disastress…but he is good in one touch plays and dribbles..is any other wingers available

  10. It’s not likely this is the Messi we will get in Copa. Not even a fraction of this. If you look at today’s Barcelona and compare to our NT, you can even argue we have better players. The difference is style. At Barcelona the work rate amongst the other 9 players is incredible. Those 9 guys run for 90 minutes and Messi and the GK do their part.
    The work rate is insane. They run all day and they are fast and organized.
    They have 3 complete midfielders. All 3 can defend and help in attack. This love affair with a true number 5 is ancient. In today’s game all 3 need offensive and defensive skills.
    In Argentina, everybody is trying to feed Messi and waiting on him. If our other 9 guys ran their ass off and played an organized attacking game Messi could choose his spots. Instead everybody feeds him waiting for a miracle. And the other team just has to defend one guy knowing our guys generally just wait on him for his magic. It’s like they lose their testicles when they get on the field with him. Such a waste of a generational talent.

    • It’s look same to me. This Barca look for Messi aswell. Only differences was Barca full back. There was nothing special about Barca yesterday. It was Messi’s show

    • Guys you can argue all day long that Barca is all about Messi. If you look Vidal, Rakitic and Busquets we have anyone close to them… the GK no comparison. The CDs are all above the ones that we have. The FB are far better than ours…. please don’t expect our NT to anything like that. We dont have the players..

      • Maybe I am wrong but Tagliafico Otamendi Pezella and Saravia are very solid. I don’t see anything wrong with them. And what is wrong with Lo Celso and Palacios?

        • I am a big fan of Argentina. No one likes Argentina more than I do. I have to be honest. Our players don’t have the quality, maturity and work ethic that players like Vidal, Busquets and Rakitic show. This is the difference. Palacios and LoCelso are very young. I hope they reach that level but know they haven’t….

      • On paper….yeah Barca is better but we’ve seen time and time again that football (sports in general) isn’t played on paper.
        Barca for the last 2 season have been ridiculously dependent on Lio to the point that last year they lost only 1 game in the league and that was the game that Messi wasn’t playing in. Barca maybe look fancier than Argentina on paper but in reality they are every bit as dependent on messi as argentina is….EVERY. BIT!

        IMO Argentina has the list of players that can win titles! They have Walter Benitez in goal who has statistically one of the best GKs in europe but Scaloni hasn’t called him up.
        Argentina has a very solid back line of saravia-nico-pezze-tagliafico but Scaloni only used them ONCE in 8 friendlies so they may not get the chance to gel. Argentina has the likes of DePaul, Celso, A.Correa, Palacios, Nico Dominguez and Ascacibar in the midfield not to mention the experience of Banega but again Scaloni never stuck with any particular lineup for more than 1 game so even if by some miracle he finds the right midfield combo, they wouldn’t have enough time to click and will have to grow throughout the 3 opening games of copa, which may not be possible.

        We’ve seen this season that Messi doesn’t need a great team behind him to win something he just needs a batch of decent, hardworking players who are atleast willing to try and make a contribution and not just stand around and expect him to do all the work. Argentina has a batch of decent players who can work hard but without a proper coach it’ll be the same old story.

    • Exactly, workrate is the key difference here. When Barca looking for a goal, their players would still running and pressing like crazy even in last quarter of the game. Suarez isnt even fast anymore, but he really work hard.

      Argentina used to have this type of attitude, I loved seeing the likes of Masche and Zabeletta (2012-2016 era) , they never stops running for 120 minutes if needed. Masche hurt his anus, Zabeleta’s nose was broken from an elbow, but it didnt stop them. However, there are too many players that are too static and never shows grit and determination. Biglia is prime example of this, he;s just going through the motion in every game.

      I wouldnt say Argentina has zero chance in this Copa, remember that Argentina has been in 28 or 29 Copa finals out of 43, so most of the time, they do get into the final even when not playing their best football like in 2015 (some narrow win + shootout win) but they still got to the final. You have to consider that the other South American team right now (even Brazil) aint in good form and it can be seen how inferior they are compare to European teams in 2018 WC.

      Dont forget that Chile won 2 Copa and did that by winning penalty shootout twice in the finals! Brazil won 2004 Copa with shootout aswell. We faced Chile 3 times in 2015 & 2016 Copa, and we beat them once 2-1 at grpup stage, so they never actually beat Argentina.

    • Goodness, im optimistic and all that but we do not have better players than Barca.

      The only player that could start for Barca is Aguero over Suarez.

      Lo Celso instead of Arthur maybe but thats pretty much it. We have no one to compete with energizer bull Vidal (which gives our playmakers freedom) or Biscuits. Alba – Pique – Umtiti / Lenglet – Semedo / Roberto is better than Tagliafico – Ota – Pezz – Saravia on paper and overall, their defense is very solid. you’re right though, we need players to constant press so Id go for Lo Celso – Guido – Palacios – Di Maria 442

      • It should be noted that , despite having the likes of Busquet, Pique , Iniesta etc etc, Spain didnt progress further than Argentina in recent WC. Argentina faced of two teams that eventually became finalists but Spain faced a weak Russian team and still lost. They also couldnt beat Morocco at group stage. Remember that Spain did not even qualify from first round in WC 2014, yet people keep saying they’re one of top 3 fav, despite 2 consecutive disasterous World cup! lets get real here, Argentina technically has a much better run in last 2 WC than Spain!

        International tournament is a whole different thing than NT. It involve more luck and less practice/training time for the team. Above the paper, Mexico and S Korea shouldnt dominated Germany regardless Germany’s form.

      • Don’t forget about Dimaria, he’d be ahead of Coutino and Dembelé but like I said before Argentina doesn’t compare to Barca…….on paper atleast, luckily football isn’t played on paper.
        Regarding the defense, again Barca’s defense is superior to Argentina’s on paper but in practice I’m not so sure. Don’t forget that Barca shipped 4 goals against Betis and another 4 against Villareal! Their defense is their weak point IMO.

        • Tar stegen and alba made the difference as well as raketic who is underrated for both Croatia and Barcelona

          • Yea those 3 players are the main difference in my opinion. ADM is world class player that physically fragile and easily gets injured.

            Alba’s speed , crosses and tireless running up and down is something that Argentina doesnt have. There has been many goals came from Alba’s crosses.

            Rakitic is also good at making penetrating pass while Argentina has to rely on Messi to do that. Pique is also a consistent performer unlike Otamendi and Mercado.

            Ter Stegen obviously the biggest difference, Argentina simply doesnt produce great goalie anymore for a long time. Romero was great during Sabella’s time, but he’s obviously covered by the likes of Garay, Masche, Zabaleta, Demichellis.

      • Our same team would look even better under a proper coach. We have potential to outshine those Barcelona players you mentioned above

  11. Love u 🐐!!
    Go ahead, ur NT Trophy chance isn’t over yet also man! Hope that Allah must give u something with NT, it may be 19’Copa/20’Copa/22’WC!
    💞🇦🇷🇧🇩💪

    • Well, its never over until he really retire from the game. Klose actually won thropy with Germany at 36, Zanetti won CL at 35. Messi is 31 with at least 3 major tournaments to play in next 4 years, I will never write him out, especially next year Copa where it would be played at home.

      • hey dude, I saw your questions on GK and honestly I don’t have much of an opinion yet. Frankly you could select three empty buckets, paint them blue and white, place them between goal and they might do better than our keepers.
        Anyways, I have been watching Club America a lot to check guido out more and what I’ve been kind of leaning towards is Marchesin for our veteran keeper choice. His long ball distribution is quite good which is a key element of Scaloni game (remember Icardi goal). I think Andrada will also make it in though he seems to get rattled a bit in high pressure scenarios like some of the Copa Lib games I watched that Boca were under pressure. And finally I will make a choice between Musso and Gazzaniga for youth call up. I am leaning towards Paulo here as I like his instincts more.

        • first part is hilarious!

          Thx for the keepers picks. Scaloni wasn’t kidding when he said recently that he loves changing the lineup. No clue who will be in net and at this point, its strange and troubling.

  14. As of now the Football God doing things which he likes, I think whenever Messi really decides and feel determined to turn things up he can easily score one or 2 Goals for Barca, Only for Argentina NT he is not able to produce it consistently, Oh Goshh Thanks to our Brilliant coaches, Who are not able to find that Messi need options to Pass, Its all about player movements and Players availability to give the pass and to return the pass. Why cant they find this basic thing Damit.

    You dont need to replicate the Barca Formation, But try to make more players available around Messi for 1 touch passes. SMH..

    • Messi has been in 4 finals with Argentina

      1 WC & 3 Copa

      Two finals at youth level, 2005 & 2008.

      Haters can just pretend that Messi never get pass a group stage with Argentina .

      • But we didn’t win any, Unfortunately Winning the Finals matters, It creates legacy, there is no doubt that he is the best player ever in the History of this game, But Not winning anything with the NT will be a black mark on his legacy, Which he didn’t deserve, We owes him at least 1 trophy with the NT. Damn.

        I think had Sabella continued at least 1 of the 2015 or 16 Copa could have won.What to say, Nothing can be done, Thanks to AFA they ruined his Legacy.

        • Yea but since we’re talking about Messi, its not entirely his fault. Maradona played 2 WC finals , didnt score in both finals but was able to win one of them because 3 of his teammates scores. Yea he’s involved directly in the last 2 goals but still, its up to his teammates finishing.

          Argentina played 360 minutes in last 3 finals and couldnt get a single goal, I mean there’s 10 other players apart from Messi, couldnt they score when Messi not?

          Portugal was prime example of that in 2016, CR was injured and they scored and won the game when CR was on the bench.

          I also thing had Sabella didnt step down, we could have won at least one of those 2 Copa. You could see the harmony within the players during Sabella’s time.

          We faced Chile many times in last many years and they only time they won were actually those 2 finals through penalty shootout.

    • > Who are not able to find that Messi need options to Pass, Its all about player movements and Players availability to give the pass and to return the pass. Why cant they find this basic thing Damit.

      This is infuriating.

      I dont get why recent coaches accept it. What happened to post game assessment and feedback. Don’t they watch the game afterwards and see exactly what we see? Why don’t they bench players whenever this happens? What the hell is going on!!!

      • The problem is, most managers are hardheaded and arrogant. They have their fav players and fav playing style and they’d stick with it to death, so they’re not calling up players based on form, nor they’d improve their gameplan. Just looked at WC 2010, Maradona managed to picked Palermo while the likes of Cambiasso and Zanetti who won treble were left out.

  16. If Ajax makes to the final, Will it be Tagliafico’s job to stop Messi on the right flank? Messi doesn’t stick to only one position but it will still be a nice battle to watch between fellow Argentines!!

    • Zanetti at 35 actually stopped Messi in 2010 semifinal , there’s a moment where he literally beat Messi in one vs one battle.

      Nothing againts Nico, but I hightly doubt he could emulate that !

        • telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/02/07/dani-alves-forced-go-goal-psgs-french-cup-win-sochaux/

          this picture is freaking hilarious. looks so out of place as would messi.

    • Tagliafico already proved wrong in here those who were devaluating him. Despite he failed on his first spell in Europe in Segunda Division and despite going to Europe as 25 years old farmer. Many suggests players over 23 being still in local league are not worth attention.

    • As per me the Semi Tie is not over yet, Remember last year Barca squandered similar lead vs Roma which was a lesser quality team compared to Liverpool.

      And if Barca gets to the Final, Ajax (Who will go through probably) will be a tough team to beat. Its like a New Generation is taking over. We have seen that in history so many times. The Olden Generation destroyed by New.

      Well lets see.

      • But we’ve also seen Barca turning 2 goal deficit to win the tie against AC Milan. If Liverpool is much better than Roma, then they wouldnt lost 0-3 in first place.

      • this time , Barca is thru. Liverpool is also chasing Premier & they have a match with Newcastle on May 5th . May 8th is Barcelona UCL match. They will be exhausted & just cant afford to play 2nd string against Newcastle. Barca meanwhile has a Celta Vigo match on May 5th where they will play 2nd team since La Liga is already won . No way Liverpool is going to stage a comeback .
        I think Messi’s Balon D’Or is 100% confirmed this time .

  17. Is Modric still play professionally? Last time I saw him with decent contribution was in WC semifinal. Isnt Mbappe the best new player after winning the WC? He just won a red card recently, not bad.

    5th best player seems to be doing well this season.

    • Man, You stole my thoughts! Mbappe, who? don’t understand the hype around him.
      Messi is now maybe 3rd 🙂

      F..k FIFA AND THEIR AWARDS! THE KING HAS SPOKEN,LIKE ALWAYS
      THEY CAN STICK THE BALLON D’OR UP THEIRS

        • well there are many strikers like mbapee (icardi,dybala,lautaro martinez) or who may even become better than mbappe in future currently in u20 (facundo colodio,adolfo gaich,julian alvarez) but u r right mbappe is a good striker who has become worldclass at such a younger age (mbappe reminds me of a younger aguero)

          • The pace is more important than anything as requirement for Messi’s partner. I believe that a strong fwd like Giroud plus a fast winger/striker like Mbappe can help to bring the best of Messi. De La Vega and Gaich could be that kind of players

        • well, it’s not like we don’t have one of the best strikers at our disposal who recently performed great at the wc. But yeah, we could use bullet like Mpappe. French are luck to have him for years to come.

    • Modric is trying really hard to make it to the Best 23 players for the next years Ballon D Or.(Which will be hard for him) Well he showed his true class this Year. LOL..Oh FIFA FIFA what have you done.

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