Lionel Messi scores twice, Ángel Di María once for PSG in 4-0 win vs. Montpellier

1. […] Messi signed for PSG last August and has won Ligue 1 with his team mates. He scored for PSG in their 4-0 win vs. Montpellier on […]

2. 2 more goals for El Toro. What a striker. 21 goals in the league. Serie A is on fire right now. All Inter need is a draw from AC Milan and ofcourse win the last game. Its tight and loving it. And Villareal is out of European Competition. But the UCL run would do good to GLC, Foyth and maybe Rulli. Atl and Sevilla had nothing to play for but it was fun to watch our players getting the start.

3. carlos alcaraz from racing is attracting alot of interest from Europe not just a rumor a solid interest he is just 19 he is strong, fast and have an eye for a goal he plays as a CM. racing have been the best team in Argentina through the Copa de la Liga professional gago looks a very promising coach there midfield trio of anibal moreno,alcaraz and miranda/florrentin are very solid intersting team to watch.many of the current national team players come from racing DePaul lautaro Acuna muso I am sure there are some I forget alcaraz and anibal could play in the future

4. Atm, there’s a lot panicking going on here. The World Cup will in 5 months time yet , some analysts already have concluded their best squads.
   First of all, we all don’t what forms will our players willing be in.
   Secondly, there is still a short club football season before the WC. So what if Medina, Licha, Foyth, Senesi etc for example outperform Otamendi? And that’s without me considering injuries. (A football reality). Are we still going to hear things like Ota won the COPA, why is he on the bench?

   My advice is that let’s leave all these self imposed anxiety til September. None of us know how the team and the players will look like in September. So please, fellow comrades, let’s chill for a while with the WC squad til August/ September. It’s unrealistic to mark a squad for November in May.

   • Lisandro Martinez is already better than otamendi and he will get only better

     • I agree. Maybe Scaloni knows otherwise. Bielsa had a lot of firepower in 2002 but never cared to test it. He has a lot of combos he can test but keeps playing the predictable names. For instance, start with the likes of Licha- Romero combo before the WC. We know Messi is gonna tell you to start with Ota. (He said he plans with Messi the matches, right? He admitted that) But what argument will Scaloni have against Messi if this becomes a possibility, if he has not tested Licha-Romero before the serious tournament? Speculation? Or hope that it works? Personally, I think Scaloni, Samuel & Ayala know a thing or 2 better than Messi, shen it comes to defending.

       • We all know that Otamendi and Romero are reckless good defenders who do not think about a tournament or the team when they make a reckless tackle. So this is what worries me the most.

       • Good to have Licha ready as Otamendi’s back up. Both Romero and Licha have champions league experience, but not world Cup experience. World Cup is a different ball game and the pressure and anxiety can take the upper hand to even veteran players (example Zidane and Materezzi incident, Ortega in 2002). You need experience payers especially in the defense. Otamendi is a leader in the defense, superb aerially and excellent in taking the ball out of the defense. He hasn’t done anything to lose his starting spot from the team.

         Similar excuses goes on with Pazella but he is not essential to the team IMO.

       • I think ur thinking too much. Because lisandro recently starting to get starting minutes actually copa came too early for him. Scaloni didn’t take risk. Bt i believe he will eventually start lisandro regularly. Both Romero and otamendi are over aggressive and they can suffer in wc for that. That’s why not only lisandro we need a proper 4th cb who can replace Romero easily thats why foyth is a must

5. Hopefully Simeone won’t be a party pooper once again and bench Depaul and Correa against Sevilla. A.Correa with a limited playing time has already scored 12 times this season and Depaul every time he is subbed in lights up their midfield. Please don’t bench them!!

   Also Villarreal is playing against Sociedad for UEFA cup spot. If they beat them today they will be tied on points with Villarreal having better head to head result and goal difference. Final match Villarreal vs Barcelona and Sociedad vs Atletico.

   • Very important match for villareal

   • Mr Nervous Rulli at it again, threw away the advantage with his poor judging.

     • As Argentine fans its looks Shame.. Trolling all Over the internet

6. How is senesi playing?? Feyenoord already down by 2 goals at halftime.

7. In his worst season, Messi still has double digit of goal and assist.

8. Lionel Messi has become the first player in the top 5 European leagues to create 200 big chances in the last 7 seasons. Only four other players have created 100+ big chances in the top 5 European leagues since the start of the 2015/16 season:

   Ángel Di María – 142
   Thomas Müller – 129
   Kevin De Bruyne – 129
   Neymar – 109
   …
   Cristiano Ronaldo – 57.

   • Mad. That’s 55% more big chances than Müller and De Bruyne who some consider the best playmaker in the world lol. Not even close.
     250% more than Ronaldo

     The fact that Di Maria is second makes the list even sweeter

     • To be fair Messi stayed injury free, but longevity is a huge strength:
       TOP5:
       Messi 96.1 big chance per minutes
       Di Maria 99,8 minutes
       Neymar 123,7 minutes
       De Bruyne 124,0 minutes
       Müller 131,3 minutes
       CR 332,5 minutes.

   • This list shows how much barca depended on Messi during most of that era to create chances. And also di Marias inch perfect crosses and counters are always pleasent to watch. And I am not surprised with de bruyne and Muller coz both of them plays in the team which has equally talented players who can create chances.

9. Out of all the WCs I have seen live after 1986 i thought we could have or should have won the title 4 more times but ended up in disappointment. We should have or could have been WC champions 6 times altogether.

   1. WC 1990
   I know the team had some luck and Goycocchea magic to reach the final. But still the penalty given to Germany in the final match was robbery. The game was going towards another penalty shootout and there was no team in the world could win a penalty shootout against us in that tournament. I wouldnt care if we had won the cup in the back of 3 penalty shootouts in the knock-outs.
   Highlights for me: Maradona running down on Brazil to assist Caniggia and knock out the yellow in the round of 16.

   2. WC 1994.
   Damn I have never seen a stronger Argentina Attack since the 1994 WC. Caniggia-Maradona-Batistuta. And we also had Redondo and Simeone in the midfield. Its a fairytale. If Fifa did not kick Maradona out, I dont see any defence in the world to contain that attack. Not even Italy back then.
   Highlights for me: A freekick against Nigeria was dummied by Maradona, taken by Batistuta blasted at the bar but Caniggia ran in to put it into the nets. Also Batistuta Hattric against Greece and ofcourse Maradona celebration after his goal.

   3. WC 2006
   I had never seen a complete Argentina 11 before 2006. What a team. What it could have been if Pekerman decided to play Messi against Germany in the quarters?!! Argentina probably was the best team in that WC.
   Highlights for me: Has to be Maxi’s goal against Mexico. Also Messi’s 1st world cup goal and the tiki taka against Serbia.

   4. WC 2014.
   The most heart broken. We were not the perfect team but Messi and some grits shown by our players especially Mascherano had us dreaming. What if Higuain scored in the final? What if Di Maria were fit in the final?? So and so .. But realistically we could have easily been the champions.
   Highlights for me: Messi’s Goal against Iran.

   Yes these are only the 4 WCs i ve seen after 86 that i thought we could have won. The reasons I thought we are not winning in 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2018 are because-

   WC 1998- We were not the best team and it always felt like someone can beat us. But i enjoyed that WC especially Bati and Ortega and ofcourse beating England.

   WC 2002- Many would argue that the Bielsa team was our best but I think 2006 was the best. The Bielsa team was an ageing team with ageing superstars. In 2006 we had the deadly mix. In 2002 we could not pass the group stage and thats what it is coz we could not. Took the pill. Hard to swallow but took it. Also i think that year Brazil desreved it. Probably the Best Brazil team i have seen. Hated it but lets be honest.
   So there was no should have or could have.

   WC 2010.- Opposite to 2002. No experience at all. Wrong team selection (Zanetti, Cambiasso and Requelme ignored) not great coaching so I never look at that WC and and regret. The only regret I have though is losing to Germany 4-0. It could have been less. Another reason- Spain deserved it. Hats off to them. Probably the best National Team I have seen in my lifetime so far.

   WC 2018. Oh God!!!
   Maybe if we had beaten France (The Champions) anything could have happenned the road was clear to the Final. But. We simply did not deserve it with the way we played. So no ifs and buts.

   NOW
   WC 2022 –
   I think the best build up we ever had or what I have seen since 86. The stars are aligned. Messi winning a copa, the team is built strong around him and capable of handling it without him. I never thought i could have said that. All the important players are in form and peeking and the best team Chemistry I have even seen with 34 years of Argentina football experience. Probably the best chance to win a WC. In Sha Allah.
   Whether Foyth plays or not, Whether Dybala plays or not, Whether Enzo is picked or not or even whether Armani is the 4th. choice keeper or not. Scaloni has done something none could have done before him. Building a winning team. Lets all be thankful and enjoy the beautiful Albiceleste football all the way to being the World Cup champions In Sha Allah.

   • Nice article. 2022 we have a chance after a long time. 2006 was good but overrated. When you need an extra time spectacular from maxi Rodriguez to advance to quarters you know there is problem and eventually you will be knocked out. I also feel after 1990,2014 was the biggest opportunity but don’t scapegoat only higuain even messi missed a one on one chance. Difference between copa 2021 final and 2014 wc final was dimaria scored and higuain and palacios missed. Otherwise for a strange reason messi always under performed in finals for national team. He missed penalty in 2016 copa final thn he missed a tapin in 2021 copa final. He gets nervous in the finals i guess

     • Germany-Algeria 1:0 after extra time, that Germany fought for their life in the 3rd group match too in a must win match vs Ghana.

     • Thats the point Anuparno. In 2006 the only thing missing was not unleashing Messi. Properly using Messi was the trick. We had everything. We were not overrated we were under-utilised. Maybe Maxi did not had to score that goal at all if Messi was utilised right. And that also cost us in the quarter-final. Plus Csabalala’s point is also right. The best team does not mean they dont sweat at all. Even Spain sweat in 2010. And in 2014, the difference between Messi’s miss and Higuain’s miss is that Messi had to reach that position to score and Higuain was given the chance on a platter to go 1 up.

   • As for 2006 Pekerman screwed up. How could he substitute riquelme and on top of that not try messi.Immediately Pekerman did all his subs Germany equally thanks to Miroslav Klose goal.

   • You bring tears to the eyes man.

     Regarding 2002, it was our world cup to lose. We had by far the strongest squad. If you can watch the full match highlights we can see that we created chances after chances every match. It was our bad luck and poor finishing that cost us. We were ranked no1 in FIFA rankings and had the best qualification campaign. Every position was laced with great players. Players like Aimar, Crespo, Killy Gonzalez were on bench. Biesla had the perfect squad to execute his tactics. It was our dumb luck that knocked us out. We had simply peaked too early.

     • Yes the 2002 squad was one of the strongest but Bielsa screwed up with his stubbornness and lack of imagination. We had prime Batistuta and Crespo but Bielsa never tried them together in an era where it was common and when he had multiple chances to experiment. Perhaps, for those who were too young, it’s like having Haaland, DeBruyne and Mbappe in one team but the coach has no idea how to maximize both. The squad was stacked. And Yes, Juan Sebastian Veron was the DeBruyne of that time. Plus we had that explosive Aimar (one of the reason I never liked Riquelme for his slowness) from the bench. For Bielsa, he could never improvise his tactics to adapt to the talent that only one of them can be on the pitch at the time. Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo were not as scary as you have to face prime Batistuta, Crespo, Claudio Lopez and Kily Gonzales and Ortega in attack at the time. Batistuta, Crespo and Lopez were tearing up some of most world class defense lines in the Serie A which was the best league at the time.

   • Really enjoyed this post. I agree with all your points. It is painful to relive all of these failed WC’s especially when many of them “could have” been different. I agree with what you say about this upcoming world cup. Our build up is good and it does teach a valuable lesson about international football. You can have a team as overpowered like the 2002 and fail but have a team that’s well set up like this one and do better. We still have places to improve but we have a great foundation to work off of. Let’s hope that this WC we can finally bury all the regrets from the past.

     • @Olive thank you. Its my pleasure. This is the only place we can express our Blue and White feelings and share our experiences. Yes 2022 seems like we have the best chemistry out of all the other time I have seen after 1986. Probably in 1990 the team had a good chemistry but this team is better. 2002 we had the galacticos but we peaked too early and was ageing. I think this time we even have a coach who is less likely to experiment too much like all the other times beside 2014. Which is actually good. This is I think is the best team in all aspect. We were never this ready to go into a WC.

       • We are still not ready. We lack in some position specially in midfield and fullback position. We needed enzo badly. Buendia could have help but scaloni doesn’t consider him as a midfielder and buendia not getting starting minutes for villa could go against him. Lanzini also not being considered by him. We awfully lack the creative spark. That’s why create very few chances mayb lowest among top teams. If our defense underperforms in any match we will be in trouble

   • Great post

10. Messi’s ambition to win another CL itself is bigger than the whole PSG club. It’s just disgusting to watch these ultras not having a damn clue on who to turn their displeasure against but instead they poke at the only thing that gives them prestige I.e., Messi in their team.

    Glad he had a great game…His touches were always there (albeit a few misses in the past since his arrival) and now the goals are coming in too! Hope he stays injury free and keeps up his game for another 2yrs.

    I will no longer be watching this sport and any once the guy retires except Argentina on the grand stage! Maradona and then Messi! What a time to be an Argentina fan if only we had a world cup or 2 by now!

11. Off Topic Joke:

    Man City: We win Trophies
    Pochetino: I need a Trophy
    Zlatan: I am the Trophy.

12. 1)Romero
    2)Otamendi
    3)lisandro Martinez
    4)Molina
    5)Acuna
    6)Tagliafico
    7)Foyth/Montiel
    8)Marcos Senesi/Pezzella

    If Scaloni selects 8 defenders then there will be less chance that Senesi will be selected. As Pezzella is playing for long time in NT he will be the first choice for Scaloni
    LMQ will not be selected in world cup for sure unless any injury

13. Foyth- Romero- Lisandro- Acuna
    Molina Nico
    De Paul. lo celso
    Messi
    Lautaro
    This seems interesting to me. We can use Molina as both right mid and right back in one half once di Maria enters. Lisandro could also help with his DM skills. De Paul can concentrate on his attack. More positional shift could be possible with this play. Even Nico could play as left back or Acuna to play in mid and Nico to go forward and foyth to turn into a CB.

14. So suddenly a lot of our regular seleccion players are in a good form: De Paul, Molina, Foyth, Messi, Di Maria, Tagliafico, Palacios, Lautaro, Lo Celso, and Alario. Not to mention that Cuti was in a great form and Paredes will be back soon.

15. Antonio Conte on Cuti’s latest injury update:

    “The situation is the same as before the game against Arsenal – Cuti is trying in his mind to recover for the last game against Norwich but honestly, we don’t know (if he will be available). For sure, for the game against Burnley, he’s not available.”

    So Cuti thinks he has a chance to recover for the last game next week against Norwich. That means his injury is not that serious and he should be available for Italy game especially Scaloni is dying to use him.

16. The dummy from Di Maria was superb in Messi”/ first. Hope they will do the same in the national team. I am glad they the chemistry between Messi and Di Maria grows even more.

17. I didn’t watch the game and I’m about to watch the highlights and I just BET he was running around as he always did and not the old man that needs his cane as many have suggested.

    • Deffenetly not an old man who is in need of cane!

    • Messi was enchufado today…

18. There was no Neymar and no hakimi that’s the difference.

    • Maybe, but the most important thing was that Leo scored twice and had a good game!

      • I mentioned the reason why leo performed well

19. Man look at Messi’s smile after his first goal, when he is done hugging everyone! He has been so used to scoring late or no goal at all that this early goal took all the pressure off of him!!

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