Pele: Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is not as good as Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini or Alfredo Di Stefano

Brazilian legend Pele has once again raised questions over the greatness of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and says that he has to achieve a lot to be compared with some of the legends of the past.
Messi, winner of the past two Ballon d’Or awards, is widely recognized as the best footballer in the world at the moment. There are also strong suggestions that the 23-year-old is set to become one of the greatest footballers of all-time.
However, Pele has refused to warm up to that belief and recently underlined Messi’s under-par performance for the Argentina national team.
According to Chilean newspaper La Tercera, the former Santos forward has once again raised his concern on the hype surrounding Messi and is quoted as saying: “People like to compare but they seem to have forgotten [Johan] Cruyff, [Michel] Platini and [Alfredo] Di Stefano, who were better than [Lionel] Messi.”
The three-time World Cup winner with Brazil also gave his opinion on the Champions League final and said: “Manchester United are a strong side and are faithful to the English style of football. But I have no doubt that as a team Barcelona are the best in the world.”

Messi scored against United in the final of Europe’s most prestigious club competition in 2008-09 in Barcelona’s 2-0 victory.Search Amazon.com for pele and messiSearch Amazon.com for pele and messi

Jose Mourinho made it more special- Barcelona fans paint the town red after La Liga triumph

It was more than just a celebration. Thousands of Barcelona fans flocked to the heart of the Catalan capital late last night to celebrate a third successive league title after watching their team clinch the point they needed with a 1-1 draw at Levante. Flags and banners were waved, songs sung and flares let off, lighting up the sky with striking shapes of bright red. It is a sight only seen when Barca win a trophy, but it's becoming a regular occurrence under Pep Guardiola.

And on Barca's big night, Goal.com took a walk down La Rambla to Canaletas - where the Catalans celebrate their titles - and spoke to some of the fans celebrating yet another trophy - a ninth under Guardiola.

Three in a row | Barca fans celebrate on La Rambla after the 1-1 draw at Levante

For many, it was as much about beating Madrid coach Jose Mourinho as it was about winning the league. "Beating Mourinho makes this win all the more special," said Joan, a 24-year-old Barca fan. "Beating Madrid is always satisfying, but beating Mourinho makes this victory even sweeter." Another blaugrana aficionado, Gerard, also took the time to mock the Portuguese, alluding to his recent press conference complaints about referees and supposed outside help for Barca. "Why, Mourinho?" he said. "Why? Why? Why? Because we're Barca and because we're better than you - that's why."

Toast of the town | Fans reflect on another title under Pep Guardiola

Other fans merely reveled in getting one over their old enemy: Madrid. "That's three in a row and we still have the Champions League to come," said Eva, a 32-year-old fan. "Madrid can keep spending, but we'll keep winning." Her friend Ana agreed: "They can keep their Copa del Rey because we have the league and we're going for the Champions League as well. But they had better take care of it because they won't be winning much else."

Plenty of flare | Barca shine bright off the pitch as well

Amid the celebrations, there was some violence - albeit less than after last week's Champions League semifinal victory over Madrid. This time, as firecrakers were let off dangerously close to large groups of fans and rubbish bins were pushed over, 18 people were taken to hospital for treatment while police made 17 arrests.

Painting the town red | Fans partied into the early hours

Many were oblivious to such problems as they enjoyed the party with an estimated 12,000 other fans. "This is the first time I have come to Canaletas to celebrate and it's amazing," said 20-year-old Laura. "I'll be back here on the 28th after we have beaten Manchester United - we're going to be champions of Europe again and I can't wait for that party." And Alex, a lifelong Barca fan from just outside the city, added: "I've lost my friends and I'm covered in beer, but I don't care; I'm surrounded by Barca people and it's a great party."

A Catalan dream | Three leagues in three years is the best since Cruyff's Dream Team

Guardiola's side has now won three league titles in a row, which leaves them just one short of the total set by Johan Cruyff's legendary Dream Team in the 1990s. Abraham, a Barca fan from Mexico, believes they will keep improving. "We are going to get better and better," he said. "I don't know if this team is better than the Dream Team, but as long as we're better than Madrid, then that's just fine." Guardiola, of course, was part of Cruyff's side and played in two European Cup finals, winning the first and losing the second. Victory over United on May 28 will see the coach claim his second Champions League title in just three seasons. "I'm sure we'll do it," Abraham said. "And we'll be back here to celebrate."

Climbing high | They're the best in Spain. Can they be the best in Europe too?

The celebrations last night were reminiscent of Guardiola's first season in charge, when he led the team to a treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles. They missed out on a repeat this time after losing the cup final to Madrid in Valencia last month, but can still claim a league and European double if they beat United - and that would lead to an even bigger party.

A mixed crowd | Fans of all nationalities celebrated at Canaletas

And it wasn't just Catalans, either. Thousands of foreigners have adopted Barca as their team since moving to the Catalan capital and many were out in force last night. Cecilia, from Buenos Aires, hailed the contribution of her compatriot, Lionel Messi. "He was amazing again tonight and he can win the Champions League for Barca as well - Messi is a phenomenon," she said. Meanwhile, Karina from Germany says she looks forward to beating Madrid - over and over again. "We've done it again," she said. "But there was never any doubt, was there? Now for the Champions League and then next year we'll beat Madrid again and again and again."

Barcelona wins 2010-11 La Liga title

Barcelona clinched its 21st title in La Liga after a 1-1 draw against Levante in round 36 of the 2010-11 campaign. The result was enough for Pep Guardiola's men to cement an unassailable six point cushion over closest challengers Real Madrid with two games left to play.

Madrid's 4-0 win over Getafe 24 hours earlier meant that Barca needed to secure just a point at the Ciutat de Valencia to hold at least a six-point advantage over its fierce rivals from the capital. With a better head-to-head record, the Catalans would be crowned champions even if both teams finished levelled on points at the top at the end of the season. And the Blaugrana did just enough to ensure the point it needed.

Guardiola's side took the lead against Levante on 27 minutes when Seydou Keita headed in Xavi's 30-yard diagonal cross. But it was pegged back after a mistake by Gerard Pique allowed Felipe Caicedo to round Victor Valdes and slot the ball into the empty net. But Barca rarely looked in trouble as it coasted to the final whistle, and across the finish line.

Barcelona - La Liga Titles (21) 1928-29, 1944-45, 1947-48, 1948-49, 1951-52, 1952-53, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1973-74, 1984-85, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11

Barcelona has occupied the top of the table since November 29 when they leapfrogged Madrid to the summit after beating Jose Mourinho's outfit 5-0 in the first Clasico of the season. Since then, the Blaugrana have lost just one and drawn three in 23 subsequent games.

However, Barca will not be able to surpass its record 99-point tally from last season, as the club will only amass 98 points at most if they win their remaining two league matches.

This is Barcelona's third consecutive domestic championship, their 21st overall, and Guardiola has won every single league title since taking over as first team coach in 2008.

NFF assures on Argentina star players

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) maintains that it has been given assurances by Argentina Football Association (AFA) that it will present its senior team players in an international friendly against Super Eagles in Abuja on June 1.

Speculation in the local media over the weekend claimed that star men like Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Zanetti, Javier Mascherno, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero have all been omitted from the squad by head coach, Sergio Batista who has reportedly opted for a second string side. NFF general secretary Musa Amadu said the federation was aware of insinuations and speculations in the media about the quality of the team that the South American nation would bring to Abuja, but insisted that the two-time world champions will come with senior team players of note.
“The truth is Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano are playing in the Uefa Champions League final for FC Barcelona against Manchester United at the Wembley on 28th May. That is the day the Argentina team would depart from Buenos Aires for Nigeria, so naturally, you wouldn’t expect those two players to be on the trip.
“The Argentina team has a new coach, in Sergio Batista and is preparing for the Copa America taking place in July. Therefore, you would expect that the new Coach would want to blood a number of new players and see if they can fit into this tactics and plans. That is why there are a number of new players in the team.
“But the Argentina list that I have seen is replete with ‘A’ team players who ply their trade in top leagues in Spain, Portugal, Italy, England, Russia, Ukraine and the like.
We are assuring fans that Argentina would present its very best possible, apart from Messi and Mascherano who are obviously out due to the Champions League final.Nigeria has never defeated Argentina at senior level.Is this the time for Nigeria to achieve this feat?

Lionel Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo Head To Head: Leo & CR7 Smash Scoring Records, But Who Will Win The Pichichi?

How They Played This Week

Who came out on top in the recent round of La Liga action?

Lionel Messi (Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol)  
After overtaking Ronaldo in the Pichichi race exactly a month ago, Messi has now failed to scored in his last two league games to allow the Portuguese to return to the top of the scoring charts.

Even though Leo failed to score, he created numerous openings for his team-mates with his mazy runs and deft flicks. He had just two shots in the end all game and he was presented with his only real scoring chance just before the opening goal when he beat two defenders but dragged his shot wide.

This was the seventh competitive meeting in a row where Messi has failed to score against Espanyol.

Goal.com Player Ratings Comment: Everything but a goal tonight. Showed quick feet around the penalty area and was a constant threat. Unselfishly gave the ball to his team-mates rather than going on his own. Great touch to take the ball down from out the air, and showed his class with a flick to Iniesta.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Sevilla 2-6 Real Madrid)

It was the second time this season that Ronaldo managed to score four goals in a single game as he inspired his side to a second consecutive six-goal league win away from home.

CR7 scored his first against Sevilla on the half hour mark when he smashed in a half volley from close range following Pepe's cushioned header. He grabbed his second a little over 30 minutes later when he pounced on a stray pass by Alvaro Negredo to easily slot past goalkeeper Javi Varas.

Ronaldo completed his sixth hat-trick of the season when he latched onto Mesut Ozil's through pass before rifling a low shot into the net. He put the icing on the cake 15 minutes from time with a close-range strike from Karim Benzema's cutback.

Goal.com Player Ratings Comment: Voted Top of the Match by Goal.com editors and readers. Four goals for the evening and a general menacing performance from start to end. Not the greatest defence he will face but was ruthless in his finishing and looked dangerous every time he was on the ball.

Individual Match Stats

	Lionel Messi (vs Espanyol)	Cristiano Ronaldo (vs Sevilla)
Goals	0	4
Shots (On Target)	2 (0)	11 (6)
Assists	0	0
Balls Lost	9	15
Balls Recovered	0	3
Fouls Suffered	3	3
Goal.com Rating	6.5	9.0

Pichichi Record Breakers
Messi and Ronaldo are no strangers to smashing records. On April 23, Leo became the first player in Spanish football history to score 50 goals in a single season, and he has since gone on to add two more.

Last Saturday night, Cristiano surpassed his own personal best of 42 goals in a single campaign as his quadruple against Sevilla brought his tally to 46 this term, 33 in La Liga alone. He is now just one goal away from equalling Messi's mark of 34 goals last season, the third-highest tally in Pichichi history.

With three more rounds to go, Ronaldo now only needs five more to match the all-time record of 38 goals in one season. If Messi goes on to claim the top scorer's prize this year, however, he will become the first player since Hugo Sanchez in 1987-88 to win the trophy in back-to-back seasons.

As records prepare to tumble, we look at some of the all-time achievements in the history of the Pichichi award.

MOST GOALS IN A SINGLE SEASON

1.	Telmo Zarra (Athletic Bilbao)	1950-51	38
-	Hugo Sanchez (Real Madrid)	1989-90	38
2.	Baltazar (Atletico Madrid)	1988-89	35
3.	Hugo Sanchez (Real Madrid)	1986-87	34
-	Ronaldo (Barcelona)	1996-97	34
-	Lionel Messi (Barcelona)	2009-10	34

MOST PICHICHI TROPHIES

1.	Telmo Zarra (Athletic Bilbao)	6
2.	Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)	5
-	Quini (Sporting Gijon/Barcelona)	5
-	Hugo Sanchez (Atletico/Real Madrid)	5
3.	Ferenc Puskas (Real Madrid)	4

MOST CONSECUTIVE WINS

1.	Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)	4
2.	Hugo Sanchez (Real Madrid)	4
3	Isidro Langara (Oviedo)	3
-	Telmo Zarra (Athletic Bilbao)	3
4.	Quini (Sporting Gijon/Barcelona)	4

MO

LAST FIVE WINNERS

GOALS

2009-10	Lionel Messi (Barcelona)	34
2008-09	Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid)	32
2007-08	Dani Guiza (Mallorca)	27
2006-07	Ruud van Nistelrooy (R. Madrid)	25
2005-06	Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona)	26

Story of a Season Who's had the best campaign so far in La Liga?

Season Stats

Minutes Played	2892	2775
Goals Penalties   Free kicks  First goals	31 4 1 12	33* 7 2 6
Total Shots (On target)	143 (78)	230 (89)
Assists	19	8*
Passes	2262(team total: 27,722)	1296 (team total: 19,128)
Passes Completed	1887 (team total: 24,304)	919 (team total: 15,426)
Fouls Suffered	54	80
Fouls Committed	21	22
Goal.com's Season Average Player Ratings	7.50	7.23

*Marca, who awards the Trofeo Pichichi, has credited Ronaldo with 34 goals (and 7 assists)
Goal Counter
Keep track of Messi and Ronaldo's goal haul in all competitive club matches what is expected to be a record-shattering 2010-11 season...

	APPS	GOALS
LIONEL MESSI	53	52
CRISTIANO RONALDO	51	46

The 2009 Champions League final, which will be repeated at Wembley in 22 days time, resulted in a hugely disappointing loss to Barcelona in the final. Rant looks back on that final and wonders whether Manchester United will make the same tactical mistakes again?
Both teams lined up as expected; United missed out on Darren Fletcher after Scotland captain’s unfortunate booking in the semi-final with Arsenal. Meanwhile, an injury crisis forced Barcelona into fielding a makeshift back-four including Yaya Touré in central defence.
For United, Cristiano Ronaldo led the line, with Sir Alex Ferguson deploying Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-Sung in wide positions, aiming to contain Barça’s fullbacks. Barça used Lionel Messi in the now familiar “false 9” role, forcing Samuel Eto’o wide.
Surprisingly, United initially lined up in 4-4-2 with Ryan Giggs playing as a supporting striker – it was perhaps an attempt to press and take the game to Barça, although Giggs floated too much to get a sense of how United lined up at any given time.
United started the game brightly though with Victor Valdes saving an excellent Ronaldo free kick early in the game. After all, the Reds had been pre-match favourites.
Eto’o and Messi kept changing position as game settled into a pattern, which caused United considerable problems. Ultimately when Messi dropped deep in the ninth minute, not a single United midfielder picked him up. The Argentinean pulled Andreas Iniesta’s marker out of position, which afforded the Spanish international a free dribble, eventually allowing Eto’o to score past Edwin van der Sar at the near post.
The goal could have easily prevented had United maintained a more disciplined shape.
United persisted with a 4-4-2, (see figure 1, below) which Barça negated by simply passing around the oncoming Red midfielders. The shape also meant that Park and Rooney had to form a second line of defence with United on the back foot. It took the pair away from Barcelona’s full-backs, enabling Puyol and Sylvinho’s influence on the game to grow.

Three greatest footballers of all time: Pele, Maradona and Messi

TWO SOUTH American football loving nations, Brazil and Argentina, have produced numerous world class footballers over the years. However, football is one of the most popular games in all European countries as well as other continents too.

Amongst hundreds of great footballers from across the globe, Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are perhaps the best ever football players we have seen.

Football player of the century, Pele, played his first international match at the age of 16 years and 9 months against Argentina and scored his first international goal. Pele played four FIFA World Cup football from 1958 to 1970. In the final of the 1958 World Cup final against Sweden, he scored two goals.

In World Cups he began to wear jersey no 10. After Pele, jersey no 10 became the most popular number in every sports event. Great players in all the sports wear jersey no. 10.

Pele also played club football for Santos and New York Cosmos for around 20 years. In his career the King Pele scored 1281 goals in 1363 games.

Diego Maradona, who is also considered as one of the greatest football players of all time, appeared in four FIFA World Cup tournaments, including the 1986 tournament. In 1986 FIFA World Cup football, he captained Argentina and won the tournament after victory over east Germany in the final.

In the same World Cup, his goal against England from 66 yard was voted "The Goal of the Century". In the 1986 football World Cup, Maradona won the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player.

Maradona played club football for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys. He played 16 times as captain of the Argentinian national team, which is still a World Cup-record.

In the current scenario Lionel Messi is the world's best contemporary player, has won twice FIFPro World Player of the Year in 2009, 2010 and FIFA World Player of the Year in 2009. Messi also represented Argentina national team in 2008 Olympics games, in which Argentina won the gold.

In 2004 Lionel Messi played for Barcelona and became the third-youngest player ever to play for Barcelona. From the last two seasons he has scored maximum number of goals for his club Barcelona. Lionel Messi will appear for Barcelona against Manchester United in final of Champions League 2010-11 on Saturday, May 28 at Wembley Stadium in London.

Diego Maradona has declared Lionel Messi his successor. Due to his ability and playing style many have drawn comparisons of Messi to football legend Maradona.

However, there is are no comparison amongst these three superstars, but these three footballers have dominated world football in the last six decades.

Ferguson to ‘neutralise’ Messi in Champions League final

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has tapped into his wide network of scouts, staff and contacts to study Barcelona and its striker Lionel Messi ahead of the Champions League final at Wembley on May 28.
United cruised their way into the final after overwhelming Schalke FC 4-1 at Old Trafford to complete a 6-1 aggregate win, and now Ferguson wants revenge for the team's 2009 league final defeat to Barcelona.

According to The Sun, the United manager has statistics and information even the Argentinian maestro may not know about himself. He knows how Messi gets the ball, what he does when he gets it, how to stop him getting it and how to neutralise him when he does.

When asked about how he will approach the final, Ferguson said: "I think we'll be quite well prepared."

The Scot had earlier said that he would turn to his Real Madrid counterpart Jose Mourinho for advice on how his side should approach the game.

"I speak to him quite a lot and I spoke to him last week. Real Madrid are a different team from us so I think we will depend on our own knowledge of Barcelona. But the experience that Real Madrid have and from Jose's angle - you always take information from that because he's always very helpful like that," Ferguson had.

"I don't think we should be going there lacking in confidence. We'll be playing a fantastic team, but we can't be frightened out of our skins. We have to find a solution to playing against them," he had added.

Ferguson, only the third manager to take a team to four European finals, now stands on the threshold of matching Bob Paisley's three European Cups.

Messi best player of all time

Lionel Messi will go down as the greatest player in footballing history, better even than Diego Maradona and Pele, according to the former Argentina and Tottenham midfielder Ossie Ardiles, who claims Barcelona’s Messi is similar to their fellow countryman Maradona – except better.

Ardiles, who helped nurture Maradona for the national side, said on Tuesday: “I think there is only one player you can compare with Messi, and that is Maradona, and in many ways they are very similar. But for some time I have thought that Diego could never be surpassed, and nor could Pele, but no longer. I would now say that Lionel Messi will go down in history as the No 1 player of all time, the best that there ever was.

“The big difference is that Maradona played in Argentina, then in Italy, while Pele stayed in Brazil, and during their time the pressures were less intense than they are now. Messi is under pressure all the time, and has to play in incredibly high-intensity games all of the time, the Champions League being the perfect example.”

European football’s governing body, Uefa, dispatched the Italian refereeing great Pierluigi Collina to monitor Belgian match official Frank de Bleeckere’s handling of Tuesday night’s Champions League semi-final second leg between Messi’s side and Real Madrid. Uefa named Collina, its head of referees and a former World Cup final referee, as its official observer at the Nou Camp.

Uefa’s disciplinary panel will meet on Friday to examine six charges arising from the first-leg match. Real’s manager, Jose Mourinho, faces further punishment for his comments during and after the match. The Real midfielder Pepe also faces a longer ban for his red-card challenge, and Madrid have been charged over their fans throwing objects and invading the pitch. having settled the dust on real madrid, will messi on his co-horts deal similar blow to man-U on may 28th ?

Scoring records and domestic dominance

Barça gave a footballing lesson at the Bernabeu, climaxing in two Leo Messi goals -one of which will surely go down as a classic- that put them in the driving seat for a place in the Wembley final ahead of next week’s second leg at the Nou Camp.

A special occasion like tonight’s, demanded high levels of concentration and bravery and Barça proved to have enough of both. Going into the semi –final without Iniesta, Abidal, Adriano and Bojan, the team lined up with Puyol at left back and Keita playing just in front of him, and stayed true to their style of play, dominating possession, building from the back and showing complete control: this was Guardiola’s commitment and it worked.

74% of the possession and two second half goals from Leo Messi, meant Barça took a giant step towards making next month’s Wembley final. With both Pepe and Pinto seeing red and Ramos a yellow that will mean he misses the next game, the Nou Camp is set to be the scene for the deciding game next week.

82% possession
From the start, this game looked like the first meeting between the two at the Bernabeu, rather than the Cup Final, with Barça composed and in charge - claiming an astonishing 82% of possession in the first quarter of an hour, whilst Madrid failed to get their pressing in midfield underway. Mourinho was clearly happy to give up the ball and hope to hit Barça on the counter.

Pinto red card
Most of the first half was a midfield tussle with only a piece of individual skill from Villa and two efforts from Messi and Xavi creating danger in Casillas’s area. Madrid were defending in numbers and only made hesitant attacks through a series of free kicks from the left, which failed to seriously trouble Valdés, who did however, make a great double stop from Ronaldo and Ozil, in a clear offside position, just before the break. It had been a niggly first half and after a scuffle broke out in the tunnel at half time, Pinto was shown a straight red.

Pepe gets his red
Mourinho fiddled with his tactics after the break, bringing on Adebayor for Ozil to try and hold the ball up in Barça’s half, but the visitors found ever more space in midfield and began to put together their typical passing game. Then on the hour mark, Pepe lunged into Alves and was shown a straight red, as was his manager, who complained in a typical fashion to the officials at his player’s sending off. With half an hour still to go, Madrid’s resistance seemed inevitably about to crack.

Afellay proves decisive
Barça nearly opened the scoring on 67 minutes, when Villa’s shot from the left was parried out by Casillas only as far as Pedro, whose header went agonisingly close. For his troubles, Pedro suffered a nasty knock as Marcelo stamped his leg and Afellay came on to replace him. The young Dutch winger made an almost immediate impact as he out sprinted Marcello in the box and centred at the near post for Messi to turn home and complete Barça’s first objective of an away goal.

Messi magic
Barça were now even more on top and they were looking for a second. It was Leo Messi - who else? - who rounded off the game with a brilliant piece of individual skill, slaloming through the Madrid defence and cleverly shooting to Casillas’s right to double the score and his own personal tally for the evening -a historic, unforgettable and brilliant end to a great night for Barça in Madrid.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi could miss return-leg against Real Madrid

Messi suffered a minor tear during his man of the match performance against Real Madrid, and will miss at least one game.

Barcelona wizard Lionel Messi could miss next week's Champions League decider with Real Madrid after suffering a minor muscle tear during the 2-0 win in Wednesday's semifinal first-leg.

 The Argentine playmaker, who scored both goals in the Bernabeu including an astounding individual effort to put the Cules one step away from the final, was in some discomfort after the match and was checked by medical staff.

The doctors discovered a tear as well as several areas of bruising, product of a brutal encounter with Jose Mourinho's men.

'La Pulga' will definitely be ruled out of Saturday's clash with Real Sociedad, and will be wrapped in cotton wool by Barcelona to give him the best chance of making the second-leg in the Camp Nou.

Indications are that he should play against the Merengues, although with a two-goal cushion the temptation will be for the club to rest or bench him to ensure the injury is not aggravated for a potential final against Schalke or Manchester United. will barcelona crew be willing to bench messi for the return at the nou camp?

Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona: Sublime Lionel Messi sinks 10-man Madrid in battle of the Bernabeu

A Lionel Messi brace has put Barca in the driving seat after a heated affair at the Bernabeu

Barcelona drew first blood in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid after Lionel Messi led the visitors to a 2-0 triumph on Wednesday evening. After a first-half devoid of any real scoring chances, drama ensued in the second session when the hosts were forced to play the final 30 minutes with ten men following a red card for Pepe.
Madrid’s mission was made all the harder when Lionel Messi expertly guided home Ibrahim Afellay’s cross in the 75th minute.
The Argentine star then scored a sensational goal when he waltzed past four Madrid players before sending the ball beyond Iker Casillas, sending the travelling support into raptures.
The opening exchanges took the same route as the previous Clasicos: neither side was able to settle early on, referee Wolfgang Stark being heavily involved from the beginning. Both sides looked to influence him as they attempted to gain a psychological hold on the German official.  
Barcelona began to enjoy possession in their own half as the match developed, and came close to taking the lead through David Villa. The World Cup winner darted in-field from out wide and looked to strike the ball across Casillas, but his effort flashed past the far post.
At the other end Marcelo was eager to break forward, his tenacity soon winning Madrid what could have been a vital corner. The hosts hastily took the kick only for Angel di Maria to waste the promising crossing position to the frustration of his team-mates.
Casillas made the game's first stop when he got down low to save from Xavi. Messi had threaded a beautiful pass through to the Spanish international who took the shot first time, firing across Madrid’s goal with pace.
The Argentine repeated his contribution soon afterwards, this time finding Villa behind Real Madrid’s defence, but the striker’s touch deserted him as the men in white saw the danger clear with ease.

Victor Valdes was called into action for the first time in the 35th minute when Pepe rose highest to meet Xabi Alonso’s free kick, but the header lacked power and the save was an easy one.

The officials became increasingly central to the tie close to half-time as tempers flared. Stark, ever the disciplinarian, had his work cut out to maintain control.

The half came to life in the final minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo smashed a long-range effort which Valdes could only parry. Mesut Ozil pounced on the rebound but shot straight at the 'keeper: his blushes were spared when the offside flag was raised.

As the players headed down the tunnel there was a ruckus between members of both teams, as an argument broke out, earning Barcelona’s second-choice goalkeeper Jose Pinto a red card.

The whistle had brought the most drama, adding fuel to the fire when the two sides re-emerged for the second-half.

The Blaugrana began the brighter of the two with Messi finding space between the midfield and defence. He shifted the ball to Pedro, who in turn found the Argentine with a delicate cross but Pepe recovered to clear the danger.  

Barcelona took a quick free-kick as they looked to get Messi away and the striker took it beyond three Madrid players before Sergio Ramos body-checked the Argentine.

The challenge earned Ramos a yellow card, which will see the defender miss the return leg. Javier Mascherano levelled the caution count, soon after, when he went in recklessly on Pepe.

Pepe was then sent off for a high, studs-showing challenge on Dani Alves, leaving the Madrid bench to furiously protest the decision.  

Jose Mourinho had contested the referee’s judgement and was sent to the stands after he sarcastically praised the fourth official after Pepe’s sending off.

Barcelona looked to take the imitative with the numerical advantage and Villa produced a fine save from Casillas as the Blaugrana began their onslaught on Madrid’s goal.

Soon after, the Spanish stopper could do nothing to prevent Barcelona from taking the lead. Lionel Messi expertly steered home his 10th Champions League goal of the season from close range after Ibrahim Afellay's swift cross from the right flank, and suddenly Barcelona were well and truly in pole position.

By Messi's standards, this was a mere tap-in - particularly in comparison to what was to follow. Five minutes from the end the little Argentine made history with one of the finest goals ever to be scored in European competition. Seizing the ball fully 30 yards from goal, Messi shrugged off the challenge of Lassana Diarra before playing a truly sumptuous ball - to himself! - past Raul Albiol.

By now he was in the box, but still had all his work ahead of him, for Marcelo and Sergio Ramos were closing in fast. As if they weren't there, Messi changed direction, cut slightly away from goal, then rolled a right-footed shot on the turn that had more than enough accuracy to leave Iker Casillas as helpless as his stunned teammates. A legendary solo goal, and one that surely propelled Barcelona to the Champions League final.

Pep Guardiola’s side walked off at the final whistle with a feeling of jubilation as they will welcome the Copa del Rey champions to the Camp Nou next Tuesday in the culmination of this Clasico Champions League tie.

Lionel Messi Becomes Latest Barcelona Star To Urge Cesc Fabregas To Leave Arsenal

Lionel Messi has added his voice to the campaign to bring Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona.

Fabregas, 23, has been at the heart of a transfer battle between the clubs after he told manager Arsene Wenger of his desire to move back to the Nou Camp. A £29 million bid has already been rejected by the Gunners, but new president Sandro Rosell is expected to keep hammering away at their resistance.

Already this week, Spain World Cup winning goal scorer Andres Iniesta has urged Fabregas to make the move, while Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique forced a Barca shirt on him in Madrid.

Speaking from Panama, where tonight he captains a select XI in a charity match featuring players such as Martin Palermo, Lucio and Marco Materazzi, Messi hoped for a reunion with his former youth team colleague.

"For me it would be great," Messi said.

"I played with him in the youth teams and he knows Barcelona.", do you think that the two stars should play under the same outfit?

 

 

Jose Manuel Pinto, Pepe & Jose Mourinho all sent off in festival of cards between Real Madrid & Barcelona at the Bernabeu

 

The festival of cards shown in Real Madrid's 2-0 home defeat to Barcelona will have ramifications far beyond Wednesday night, with both sides now lacking several players for the return-leg at Camp Nou next Tuesday.

The 'battle of the Bernabeu' saw Sergio Ramos pick up a suspension after earning a yellow card, while Pepe's straight red will see him sit out the return leg.

Almost certainly set to miss out is Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, who was sent to the stands for what he described as some laughter and clapping towards referee Wolfgang Stark in the aftermath of Pepe's dismissal.

On the other side, Barcelona's substitute goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto was the first to see red, the veteran receiving his marching orders for his part in a half-time melee.

It leaves the list of missing names for the second-leg clash longer than it already was. Players in italics could potentially return for the match: