femiti:

I don't know about winning at old trashford...all I know is we are winning that tie even if messi doesn't turn up on that night.

The players are all fired up for this...watching their Madrid counterparts lift the ucl year on year is more than a motivation.

I wan see the miracle wey go happen

Isomerizm:
You don't seem to understand people's agitation about the passtoMessi syndrome. In whichever team Messi is, or under whichever manager Messi plays, the remaining ten players will always pass to Messi, because, needless to say, he's the most brilliant player on the pitch. He will always be. He sees tjins3others do not see. He knows what to do with the ball, even whenever a player like Xavi has capitulated.

In previous years, people passed to Messi because:

1. He was the best finisher.

2. The Messi magic.

3. He was always the sole contender for the golden shoe (and they did this when it was necessary)

4. When there was no other choice, and players have given up. Even Xavi and Iniesta did this.

But these days, the way players pass to Messi, you wonder if they even think at all. Messi could be in a more disadvantaged situation than, let's say, Dembele, but you see every other player wanting to pass to him, as though they'd been divested of mental vitality [Arthur (for the most part), Busquets, Pique and Umtiti are exceptions to this].

Take that Arthur's pass the other night against Lyon. Dude had a clear opportunity to shoot, and the odds of the ball reaching the back of the net were frèaking high, but he decided to pass to Messi. I don't know what happened to him that night. Perhaps he wanted Messi to score higher than Ronaldo.

You get why people never complained about PasstoMessi before now?

Debroslink:



Nobody said #PasstoMessi is bad. What I said is...
#PASSTOMESSI + strikers' output = UCL titles

#PasstoMessi guarantees La Liga anyday.

#PasstoMessi means letting Messi create and score chances

However, there's nothing like PasstoRonaldo.#PasstoMessi means letting Messi create and score chances. Something I can hardly say of Ronaldo.Ronaldo is a player who is deadly when crosses are involved or space to shoot is available.

Eruditor:


You say we will win if Messi does not turn up? I am not sure you have been watching either this Barcelona or United in the last one month.

IKON360:

well I think there has always been a reliance on Ronaldo to score but maybe not to create. Passing to Messi to score or create, passing to Ronaldo to score, what's the difference? These guys are the greatest goalscorers in the past 11 years, and they always yield trophies, so a reliance on them is excusable. Is it not?

barackodam:



They dropped all three

femiti:
yes, in the first leg...there's always a second leg at nou camp.

hustleranthem:
See as wolves deal with Amanda United and u expect them to perform magic against us? I laugh in japanese

calculator123:

It was obvious Countinho got tired and we needed another person to disturb that defence aside Messi. If Countinho has played his part, dembele won't have played.
If he didn't play him and we lost na the same you go still come here rant about why he didn't play Dembele

Eruditor:


Football is about match ups. United came out to control possession whilst Wolves counter attacked but against us United will set up to ultra defend and counter.

Or does it mean Wolves will beat PSG too?

Eruditor:


Football is about match ups. United came out to control possession whilst Wolves counter attacked but against us United will set up to ultra defend and counter.

Or does it mean Wolves will beat PSG too?

hustleranthem:
even possession wolves collect am..so what are you saying boy? Wolves were clearly the better side

hustleranthem:
stop giving excuses for your mediocre team and even the possession wolves collect that one too. So what exactly is your point. If wolves can play Amanda like this then there is absolutely nothing they can do against a superior Barca side

femiti:
yes, in the first leg...there's always a second leg at nou camp.

IKON360:

well where I am off track please tell me...
Passing to Messi for him to start plays is understandable, Messi can dribble and has a very good passing range, passing to Messi when in the box is so that Messi will score, being a good dribbler or good passer etc doesn't translate to being a good goalscorer, when players have the ball around the box, the most sensible thing to do is pass to the best finisher in the team, ours is Messi. Someone like Suarez has eyes for just two players, Messi and others. This team has established some sort of rhythm with Messi such that Messi is almost always open for a pass.
As for Arthur, I don't blame him for passing to Messi, he isn't fast nor very strong neither is he a proven goal scorer. He would have been caught and the ball gotten or cleared before he shot and that goalkeeper had already covered him so the best thing to do was to pass, guess who was closest to him?

Isomerizm:
You'all so infected with this notion of over-relying on performance at Camp Nou, so contemptibly that you trivialise the away game.

This is the second mistake Barça must avoid. Barça must play at Old Trafford as though it were the Bernabou.

Isomerizm:
You'all so infected with this notion of over-relying on performance at Camp Nou, so contemptibly that you trivialise the away game.

This is the second mistake Barça must avoid. Barça must play at Old Trafford as though it were the Bernabou.

philfearon:

How did we play at the White Hart Lane this season? Did we also over rely on performance at the Camp Nou?

philfearon:

How did we play at the White Hart Lane this season? Did we also over rely on performance at the Camp Nou?

Isomerizm:


My point is, players pass to Messi these days not only because he's the best chance creator and goal scorer. They do, because, somehow, their own individual creativity has been replaced with something else: EVEN IF ANOTHER PLAYER IS FREEER THAN MESSI AND IS AT A MORE ADVANTAGED POSITION THAN MESSI, I DONT SEE HIM. I SEE ONLY MESSI.

It doesn't happen all the time, but for the most part, it does. There have been countless occasions, when Coutinho, Alba, Rakitic, Semedo and Suarez could have done something different, even make a run, or passed to another player who was obviously expecting the ball in a more gracious position, but no, they'd pass to Messi, who had obviously just finished tracking back.

mcdreeezy:


He has a point. A good one at that. The game at the White Hart Lane was not a knockout game. We all know Barca usually take the group stage by storm. Knockout stage is the koko.

IKON360:

since away goal rule came in, the most important matches in UCL are away matches, not home matches. Liverpool, Ajax, Man utd and Porto all qualified because of how their excellent performances away, not home matches but away. Away matches are "importanter"

mcdreeezy:


Exactly.


Go to Old Trafford, score two goals. Come back to Camp Nou and finish the job.

CosmicPhoenix:

2 goals aint enough,4-5 is enough

CosmicPhoenix:

2 goals aint enough,4-5 is enough

philfearon:

How did we play at the White Hart Lane this season? Did we also over rely on performance at the Camp Nou?