Player in Focus: Lionel Messi
Let’s not kid ourselves: in what was unquestionably Barça’s biggest game of the season, was it ever going to be anybody else? With today’s headlines and social media awash with praise for the little man, in what has been labelled as one of the all-time great Champions League performances, there’s no need for pretences: Barça’s number 10 had a magnificent evening, and hardly put a foot wrong during the encounter. To commemorate such a unique performance, Player in Focus is going to stray from the type. Rather than analyzing La Pulga ‘s performance in the abstract, attention is going to be diverted on chronologically seeing the games through the Argentine’s lens over the course of 94 minutes of football. Strap in your seatbelts, we’re going for a ride. The Three-Man Gambit Never one to shy away from a tactical innovation or risk, Pep Guardiola rather surprisingly elected to start a three-man back line against his old side, with ex-Real Madrid man Xabi Alonso situat