Lionel Messi Archives ⋆ Page 16 of 19 ⋆ LSU

May82019 by JBNo Comments

Messi broke down in tears in dressing room after Liverpool defeat

UEFA, La Liga

Barcelona star Lionel Messi broke down in tears after his dream of winning another Champions League with the Spanish giants collapsed against Liverpool. The Argentina international was inconsolable in the Barcelona dressing room after the 4-0 loss at Anfield, where his side were on the receiving end of an incredible comeback in Europe for the second season in a row. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Messi was then selected for a drugs test by anti-doping officials and the team headed for Liverpool John Lennon Airport without him as a result. Reports in the Spanish media have claimed that, on his arrival at the airport, Messi was involved in a confrontation with a group of Barcelona fans angry at their team’s collapse in the Champions League. Luis ...

May72019 by JBNo Comments

Mourinho reveals how he kept Messi in ‘jail’

UEFA, La Liga

Jose Mourinho has revealed how his tactics kept Lionel Messi in "jail" during Inter's victory over Barcelona in the 2009-10 Champions League semi-final. Barca were at the height of their powers going into the semi-final, but Inter famously defeated Guardiola's side despite having most of the possession to their opponents. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Inter won the first leg 3-1 at San Siro, before holding on for a 1-0 loss at Camp Nou in the second leg to progress via a 3-2 aggregate scoreline. Mourinho's side eventually went on to win the Champions League by defeating German giants Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final in Madrid. Mourinho explained that stopping Messi, who was playing on the right wing, had to be a group effort which involved defensiv...

May42019 by JBNo Comments

‘Only Messi or Ronaldo can replace Real Madrid target Hazard at Chelsea’

Premier League, La Liga, Seria A

Wayne Bridge doesn't believe Chelsea are capable of replacing Eden Hazard, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi the only two players who could match his impact for the club. Hazard is one of Madrid's main targets this summer and he has spoken about moving to Real Madrid to play under his idol, Zinedine Zidane. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); It is reported the Blues are holding out for £100 million for the Belgium international, with the Belgian keen for the move to go ahead in the summer. Christian Pulisic will be arriving at Stamford Bridge from Borussia Dortmund in a £58m transfer but Bridge doesn't think that anyone, apart from Ronaldo and Messi, could replace Hazard. "If Chelsea lose Hazard, I don't know how they could replace him," Bridge to...

May32019 by JBNo Comments

Van Dijk sends warning to Messi & Barcelona after CL defeat

Premier League, La Liga, UEFA

Virgil van Dijk has issued a warning to Lionel Messi and Barcelona after Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final game. Barcelona secured a win at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night, through goals from Messi and Luis Suarez putting the League champions in control. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Liverpool produced a good performance but their hard work was undone by Lionel Messi’s two second-half goals. However, Van Dijk appears to have hope of a comeback ahead of next week’s second leg at Anfield and believes Messi ‘won the battle but not the war’. Speaking to Spanish outlet Sport, the defender said: ‘When you come up against Messi and he produces his best form you can’t do anything. ‘I’m grateful that I’m not in ...

May22019 by JBNo Comments

Messi slams Barcelona fans after CL win over Liverpool

La Liga, UEFA

Lionel Messi criticised Barcelona supporters for their treatment of Philippe Coutinho after his team’s 3-0 Champions League victory against Liverpool. Over 98,000 spectators were in the Camp Nou for a masterclass from Messi, who scored a brace in the second half to leave Liverpool needing a miracle at Anfield. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Despite the scoreline, Liverpool dominated large parts of the match and forced Barcelona into a change of system after the interval to stem the flow of Liverpool's attacks. While Luis Suarez scored the opener against his former club, Coutinho was less impressive and he was substituted on the hour mark to a chorus of boos from the home fans. Messi is close friends with Coutinho and the Argentine slammed his own...

Apr182019 by JBNo Comments

Van Dijk reveals how Liverpool will stop Lionel Messi after Porto win

UEFA, La Liga, Premier League

Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool must defend ‘together’ as a unit against Lionel Messi when they fight Barcelona for a place in this year’s Champions League final. Liverpool sealed their spot in the final four with a 6-1 aggregate win over Porto on Wednesday after Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Van Dijk all got a goal each in a one-sided second leg. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The Reds face Barcelona for the first leg of a scintillating semi-final this month and come up against Messi who is currently in the form of his life. Messi produced an outstanding performance on Tuesday, inspiring Barcelona to a 4-0 aggregate win over Manchester United with a brace at the Nou Camp. Asked how he plans to stop Messi after Liverpool’s de...

Apr172019 by JBNo Comments

Messi reacts to Ronaldo’s exit from the Champions League

Premier League

While football fans will be able to watch Lionel Messi’s greatness in the Champions League semi-finals, Cristiano Ronaldo will have to watch his rival in action from afar after Juventus were knocked out by Ajax. Juventus suffered a surprising 2-1 loss to Ajax’s young guns in Turin, as the Dutch team bounced back from Cristiano Ronaldo’s opener to progress. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); As Ronaldo’s dream of a fourth successive Champions League died, Messi was on fire for Barcelona in their demolition of Manchester United at home. After the match, Messi was told Ronaldo and Juventus, who could have faced Barca in the final, were no longer in the competition. ‘That tells you everything [about the competition],’ said Messi. ‘Any team is complicat...

Apr112019 by JBNo Comments

‘I made Barcelona win, not Messi’, Samuel Eto’o slams Guardiola’s treatment of him

La Liga

Former Barcelona forward Samuel Eto'o has accused Pep Guardiola of not understanding the squad despite leading them to their first treble in the 2008-09 campaign. Eto'o had a fall-out with the head coach and found regular playing time limited with Guardiola deciding to field a young Lionel Messi in what turned out to be his last campaign at the club. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Despite the manager's preference, the ex-Cameroon international ended the season as Barca's top scorer in La Liga with 30 goals and also netted the opener in their 2-0 defeat of Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final. While recalling his relationship with the present Manchester City manager, Eto'o revealed that he forced the Catalan to plead for forgiveness with...

Mar292019 by JBNo Comments

Lionel Messi: I miss Cristiano Ronaldo in La Liga

La Liga

Lionel Messi says he misses facing rival Cristiano Ronaldo as the former Real Madrid star gave "prestige" to La Liga. After helping Madrid win a fourth Champions League trophy in five years, Ronaldo left the Real Madrid to join Serie A giants Juventus in July. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Ronaldo has continued to save his best for Europe's elite club competition, with a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid firing Juventus into the quarter-finals of this year's Champions League. The draw subsequently meant Messi and Ronaldo cannot meet unless both teams advance to the final, which will be played at Atletico's Wanda Metropolitano home. Madrid are lagging 12 points behind Liga leaders Barcelona and Messi claimed he misses the competition provided by Ron...

Mar132019 by JBNo Comments

Ronaldo equals Messi record to complete Juve’s stunning comeback vs Atletico

Seria A, UEFA

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to complete Juventus’ shocking Champions League comeback against Atletico Madrid. Juve were faced with a difficult task of qualifying after a 2-0 defeat to Atletico in the first leg, while Diego Simeone’s team headed into Tuesday’s match having kept a clean sheet in their last five games. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But Ronaldo hit the back the net three times in Turin to equal Lionel Messi’s record of eight hat-tricks in the Champions League and secure Juve’s place in the quarter-finals. The Italian champions started the second leg well and had a goal ruled out in the fourth minute after VAR ruled that Ronaldo had fouled Jan Oblak before Giorgio Chiellini put the ball into the net. Ronaldo opened the scoring ...