Breaking Down Lionel Messi's Performance for Barcelona vs. Juventus
It is too easy to reduce a player like Lionel Messi down to the raw statistics. That is neither a good nor sensible thing to do.
Barcelona's No. 10 might have 58 goals in 56 games this season, he might have three trophies in the bag, but it doesn't tell the whole story.
There are the big, outstanding moments he delivers, which are analysed inside out, like his Copa del Rey final wonder goal against Athletic Bilbao. But what makes Messi the most complete footballer out there, the best in the world right now, and probably ever, is how completely rounded his overall game is.
Xavi Hernandez is Messi's team-mate and he said it best. He spoke to UEFA about the Argentine before the Champions League final. Xavi said:
"He's the smallest, but he's the best at everything, even in the air. Messi is a phenomenon. I'm not about to say anything new. What Leo has been doing is amazing. He's even the best at defending. When he puts pressure on the full-backs, he wins the ball back. He's the best at everything, no matter what he does.
"
When Xavi talks, it's a good idea to listen. After Barcelona's 3-1 Champions League final win over Juventus, if you just looked at the raw statistics, you would think Messi did not play a crucial part.
After all, he did not score. He did not provide a direct assist to a team-mate, either. So that's why you have to dig deeper, because Messi was a key influence on the game.
Perhaps judged by his other performances, this was nothing more than a standard Messi display, but compared to other footballers, he is still operating at a level far greater than anyone else out there.
The official man of the match was Andres Iniesta, while Neymar or Ivan Rakitic would also have been strong shouts, but Messi was a candidate too.
We'll let Xavi have his say again. He explained after the game, per Sport:
"We suffered a lot, because Juve pressed on in the second half after that goal. Mentally it cost us a lot, but then Leo [Messi] appeared once again, in a play that changed the game. The team was sensational. Messi was brutal again."
The Spanish word "brutal" doesn't quite have the same connotations as it does in English, with Xavi meaning "amazing," but there's a nice, heavy sound to it, fitting for a heavyweight of the game.
Not in size of course, unless you put the trophies he has won on the scale with him. That said, Messi has slimmed down a tad this season and it's clearly paying dividends.
This was Messi's fourth Champions League trophy and despite not scoring or assisting, he played a thorough part, contributing to each goal.
Beyond his contribution to Barcelona's strikes, which we will get to, there are still other ways to evaluate Messi which statistics simply can't point out.
There was the image of Leonardo Bonucci with a fistful of his shirt in the first half, completely at a loss of how to keep up with the forward.
There was the dribble across the edge of the penalty area, with zig-zag quick-fire one-twos with Neymar and Suarez, before a rising drive flew past the post.
It is impossible to quantify how much fear Messi put into Juventus' defence. The mental toll that trying to mark him took. You can count his numerous dribbles but you can't explain how destabilising they were for the Italians.
And there was the pure and simple adulation of his team-mates for occupying one of Juventus' best midfielders and creating more space and time for them. For nearly an hour, Paul Pogba was tasked with helping Patrice Evra shut down Messi.
The French pair hounded him everywhere, sometimes enlisting the help of others, doing their best to keep him at the edge of the game. Pogba went into the book for one over-zealous challenge on the Argentinian.
So Messi roamed, coming infield to get the ball, and that's where he did his damage for the first goal. An inch-perfect pass, powered into the feet of Jordi Alba, and Barcelona had transformed an everyday situation in the centre of the pitch into a dangerous attack.
A very dangerous attack, which saw Alba feed Neymar, who rolled the ball into the path of Andres Iniesta. The Spaniard then squared it for Ivan Rakitic to blast home. Messi wasn't on the scene. Four players touched the ball after he did. But his part in the goal was essential and inimitable.
The second goal came at a crucial time, little over 10 minutes after Juventus had equalised. And crucially, Pogba's role was now more of an attacking one, which freed up space for the forward.
Messi launched into one of his typical dribbles, blazing past one player, barging past a second and sending a vicious low shot towards Gianluigi Buffon's goal.
Down went the Italian goalkeeper, alert and anxious, to stop the effort from the man he had described as an "alien" a few days before the game.
The ball came back out, bouncing off Buffon's palms, and Luis Suarez, ravenous for success after years of little silverware, gobbled up the chance emphatically.
That was it, the match-winner, although Neymar added a third in stoppage time. It was Messi that sent the Brazilian spinning through towards the goal, even if he exchanged passes with Pedro before finishing the game.
No goals, no assists but one hell of an influence. Lionel Messi, ladies and gentlemen.
.jpg?w=600 "A.J. Brown Deal Not 'Firm'")
.jpg?w=600 "Shedeur not currently in line for Browns QB1")
