Seriously!Seriously?
I reckon you want to see more players in Ashley Young mold.
(Not that I know what Young has to do with this)
Lionel Messi
- Thread starter Scarecrow
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(Not that I know what Young has to do with this)
Suarez's run is underrated, he opened up the whole space for Messi.
I do think the first one was a really good finish but we gave him all the time in the world, which you obviously shouldn't do with a player as good as Messi.
Yes it's really apparent watching it again. I'm wondering who made the mistake, I think it was Jones who should have ignored the run and taken on Messi (not that he had any success the many times he tried during the match). Either way it was an extra second for Messi and that's all he needs.
Edit - Jones for sure
Talking about mistakes etc just seems superficial when we are talking about young and Phil Jones. If it was Vidic and Ferdinand in their prime, we could talk about Messi's brilliance or their mistakes, but who expects Young and Phil funny face Jones to stop the best player of all time.
It's difficult to say, really. Messi is a genius when it comes to passing, you leave Suarez to make a run, he can find him in the perfect position for a good chance at goal. You kind of have to pick your poison, and there was still a lot to do after the run, that finish was exquisite.
I don't really know what to say.
In the sea of average, shit, uncreative player you want Messi to retire. Do you like football?
He made the space by first winning the ball (staying on his feet), then nutmegging and bursting past Fred, and then Jones decided to follow Suarez's run which gave him the extra second to set up the shot and score (a difficult chance).
This was almost all his own work, and top quality work.
The 2nd goal was about 30% him for the run and 70% on DDG.
I think he was Smalling's man and the problem was that both him and Jones went to follow him (also I don't know if this can be factored into a decision at that speed but Suarez shooting from a tight angle is less of a danger than Messi from a central position even if its further out).
He's overrated and his beard is not even that nice.
Agreed, all I'm saying is I don't necessarily blame them for this. This was all Ashley Young's fault, such an unnecessary pressure on the defense when he just had to hoof it to the right wing.
I doesn't mean you have to like him to like his football. I probably hate Ronaldo, and even his style of football is far from nice to watch, IMO, but I admire his goalscoring ability, his runs, his determination, etc. I would always watch him before players like Lingard, etc., even though I like Lingard more than him.
Dude, I've watched Zico playing and I can assure you he scored much more than 192 goals. Actually, Wiki English version is completely wrong because, taking into account only Brasileirão (Brazilian Championship), Zico scored officially 135 goals (instead of 123 goals for his whole Flamengo's career wrongly stated there).
Sources
https://www.esportelandia.com.br/futebol/campeonato-brasileiro-serie-a-artilheiros/
https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3Wkn...o6uco/wiki/Campeonato_Brasileiro_Série_A.html
https://www.fifa.com/fifaeworldcup/news/strikers-the-spotlight-1065683
If we consider other tournaments and matches for Flamengo, Zico's goals far outweight this number.
Aren’t those others those Brazilian regional leagues that are a lower level?
He's the best player I've ever watched for sure. I'm not denying that. I'd take him over anyone of our players, but he's not the only good footballer in the world so, unlike everyone(?), I won't miss him when he retires. I don't watch Barca much anyway. And when I do, despite doing amazing stuff, I can't say I enjoy watching him really because I don't like him or Barca.
But yes, I'd rather watch him over Young and Lingard any day of the week!
Maybe I'm going to regret to ask it but why do you hate Messi so much?
This kind of player is so deadly great that I feel we are blessed to have the golden opportunity to watch a guy like him on the field.
He's brilliant (obviously) but we didn't half make it easy for him. How many goals has he scored in his career where he cuts in from the right and puts it in the corner? Yet we let him run pretty much unchallenged.
Saying United gifted him the first goal is laughable. It's like blaming whoever gave the ball away before Maradona scored his goal v England in 86. Yes, Young was poor in possession but there's still plenty to do after that. To get in ahead of the challenge, maintain possession, nutmeg the midfielder then bury one past a goalkeeper like de Gea from outside the box right into the corner? That's a brilliant goal. It was avoidable only in the sense he should never have had possession in the first place. Everything he did afterwards was excellent.
Yes, they were. But they were much higher than current standards. For example, Bangu and América had good/great squads at that time unlike nowadays. By the way, it was very common to face other top-RJ teams like Vasco and Fluminense more than twice in those regional leagues.
I guess you were able to keep all the Brazilians in Brazil then?
Liverpool better than Barca?
Barring VVD, this Liverpool defence is actually garbage. They've been fortunate in recent weeks. Spurs should have beat them. Southampton would've been 2-0 up on them if Shane Long wasn't Shane Long, Hazard missed a few sitters at the weekend. The only issues Barca will face is the pressing but in order to press them high up the pitch you must concede space behind and if Barca break that press they'll kill Liverpool.
This isn't the Premier League here. This is the cream of the crop we're talking about.
Exactly.
Except for Falcão who was playing for Roma, all the other Brazilian players in that 1982's squad was playing for a Brazilian club. It's a good time when a South-American team was able to build a superior squad than a top-tier European one.
My exact thoughts. Don't understand the people saying no one challenged him and he was just gifted space. Fred attacked him right after he got out of the challenge but got nutmeged, Suarez made a good run to drag Jones away from Messi. Everyone else was out of position as it wasn't expected you'd lose possession.
First goal was world class for me. Second goal was an absolute free gift though, shocker from DDG.
Messi had to place the ball into the far corner from 25 yards, and still we're talking about making it easy for him. There's no other player in the world that we'd accept that kind of argument about. "Oh, we let him get within 30 yards of goal.... practically a tap-in, really".
De Gea fecked up badly for the second, but the first was magical. That insta-nutmeg on Fred, shimmy to see off Jones and then the precise finish. It says a lot that I deem that a standard Messi goal.
"We let Messi touch the ball so we basically gifted him the goal"
*after he regains possesion vs one player, nutmegs another one, dribbles into space and makes a perfectly placed curved long range shot that beats one of the best shot stoppers in the world
*after he regains possesion vs one player, nutmegs another one, dribbles into space and makes a perfectly placed curved long range shot that beats one of the best shot stoppers in the world
Barcelona have looked pedestrian for two months now. Liverpool? They just smashed chelsea, deservedly beat an in form spurs side and have generally looked great of late
Did you watch the Liverpool - Spurs game? Spurs should have won that game, and would have if it weren't for Sissoko and Lloris having brainfarts
Liverpool should have been out of sight by then. Spurs had chances at the end but if salah and mane weren't too busy looking for personal glory the game is done and dusted inside the first hour
Useful player.
One must be a special kind of weird to not enjoy the greatness of Messi.
Genuinely humble off the pitch, a straight destroyer on it.
Truly the best player in the world.
Genuinely humble off the pitch, a straight destroyer on it.
Truly the best player in the world.
Should have fouled him to be honest. Only way to stop him when he gets in that possesion. Probably would have scored the freekick anyway though.
You hear the crowd in that first goal?
It sounded like heart beats with a following explosion. Messi is the heart beat of Barcelona and football in general. It will be a sad day when he hangs up his boots.
It sounded like heart beats with a following explosion. Messi is the heart beat of Barcelona and football in general. It will be a sad day when he hangs up his boots.
Imagine what it must be like for a Barca fan to have followed Messi through his Career. They've had players like Laudrup, Stoichov, Romario, Maradonna, Cruyff, Luiz Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Iniesta and Xavi, but Messi has just been on fire for over decade. They've never had anything like him. No club has really. Ronaldo with Madrid comes close, but he didn't come up from the youth academy. If I was a Barca fan and Messi obliged to an autograpth i'd suck his cock on the spot.
Horrific atmosphere, was silent for the most part.
He's the best footballer this planet has seen thus far imo. Personally I think the standards of the game are increasing exponentially be it tactics, sports science, pressure, exposure, competition etc but that's not to say that a certain Diego Maradonna, Ronaldo 9 or Pele wouldn't have been as good if they were born in the 1980s.
I think R9 got the best of it, he was just marred by Injuries. I think if Pele was of the same generation of Messi and Ronaldo, he would be an absolute beast, but you never know. I think if George Best had played in the SAF years, he would have won at least 3 ballon'dors of course imagining that he gave up booze and partying and actually played to his full potential. I don't think there a lot of footballers that can compare to Best really. Cruyff maybe,
Chelsea are shite and Spurs had lost 3 of their previous four league games and drawn the other. You’re exaggerating those feats a little.