Barca v Bayer Leverkusen: 5 Things We Learned at Camp Nou

Lionel Messi is a scoring machine.

And Barcelona? Well, they might just be unstoppable.

Barcelona dispatched Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 on Wednesday in the second league of their Champions League Round of 16 clash at the Camp Nou. Messi, their 24-year-old Argentine wizard, scored five goals.

At this point, we're running out of things to say about Messi and his team.

Hew is certainly the best player in the world right now.

His five goals brought his season total to 48 for Barcelona in all competitions. He's now scored 17 hat tricks for Barcelona, and he's not even halfway through his 20s.

And Barcelona?

Geez, who's going to beat them?

There might not be an answer to that question right now.

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Well, That Didn't Work

Bayer Leverkusen appeared to be taking a very specific approach with Lionel Messi early in the match.

Every time Messi took possession, multiple Leverkusen defenders swarmed to him quickly.

It didn't work.

Messi broke free for his first chance in the opening minutes, chesting down a lofted Cesc Fabregas pass before forcing a smart save from Bernd Leno.

After his first goal in the 25th minute, Messi broke free on right in the 31st and had his shot blocked.

And we all know what happened after that.

Pick a strategy against Messi.

Any strategy.

Chances are, it won't work.

Neither Did This

Leverkusen also tried to press Barcelona with a high defensive line. That didn't work, either.

At times, Leverkusen's defense pressed all the way to the center line. Messi made them pay for that with the opening goal, beating the trap easily to set up a one-on-one with Leno.

Leverkusen's foolhardy strategy set up a record-setting performance for Messi. And what a night it was.

No one had ever scored five goals in a Champions League match before Wednesday night. Messi changed that.

Messi's five goals gave him 48 on the season in all competitions. That total includes a whopping seven hat tricks.

By now, the numbers are so outrageous they've almost become pedestrian. That's how good Messi is.

And he's still only 24.

Why Would Guardiola Leave This?

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has been linked with the vacant Chelsea job, as well as the England post left open by the resignation of Fabio Capello.

There's no way he'd leave Barcelona right now.

Admittedly, there's something to be said for taking on a new challenge. If Barca win another Champions League trophy this year, Guardiola might find himself wanting something new.

But as of now, it's impossible to see him leaving for a no-win situation.

Future Is Bright

Cristian Tello came on in the 53rd minute as Barcelona started pulling the starters.

He impressed almost immediately, scoring his first in the 55th minute, a second seven minutes later and nearly a third in the closing minutes.

The first was especially nice, as Tello worked himself loose on the left and beat Bernd Leno with a fabulous shot at the far post.

The second wasn't nearly as pretty. Tello did everything the same, except his shot was closer to Leno, who turned the ball into his own net with his hand.

Still, Tello showed excellent awareness and positioning to get free on both goals. In fairness, it’s easy to look good in this side, but just getting into this Barcelona team is an achievement of its own.

Once Tello managed that, he kept getting free down left side. And Marc Muniesa, the other youngster on the pitch as a second-half sub, kept obliging him with excellent service.

 There’s no time like the present for Barca, but the future is certainly bright.

Still the Team to Beat

If we didn’t know it for sure already, it’s up there with death and taxes now.

Barcelona are the team to beat in this year’s Champions League. And they’re clearly the favorites.

We’ve known that for some time, but Wednesday added a wrinkle.

Barca didn’t just beat a bad Bayer Leverkusen team (though Leverkusen were awful). Barca beat the team that beat Bayern Munich 2-0 at the weekend.

So, then, does anyone have a chance?

AC Milan just endured a whipping at the hands of Arsenal and now look more vulnerable than ever.

Bayern still have to turn around a 1-0 deficit to Basel in their Round of 16 tie.

The only team you’d give any chance against Barcelona is Real Madrid.

But in all honesty, days like this suggest only Barca can beat Barca.