Lionel Messi, a former prodigy of Josep Guardiola, proved, once again, that he is the most intelligent player in the world as his two moments of magic and a late goal from Neymar helped FC Barcelona beat Bayern Munich 3-0 at Camp Nou on Tuesday. Luis Enrique said after the game that a he no longer gets surpriseda by the brilliance of Leo Messi.
Pep Guardiola surprised everybody with his tactics as he picked up only three defenders against the in- form MSN of FC Barcelona. On the other hand, the Catalans also shocked the Bavarians by preparing a wet pitch at Camp Nou.
Both the teams played attractive brand of football in the first half. FC Barcelona enjoyed the upper hand as Bayern Munich keeper Neuer had to make out of this world saves to keep the Bavarians in the game. Bayern Munich did dominate the possession but FC Barcelona looked more dangerous in their attacks but Neuer was proving the biggest obstacle in their way.
FC Bollywood made a good start to the second half as Guardiola shifted back to the four man defence. Bayern Munich were creating more chances but they failed to threat Blaugrana keeper Ter Stegen and the tie poised at 0-0.
But, the two moments of magic from Leo Messi changed the course of the game. He scored through a thunderous strike in the seventy seventh minute. Two minutes later, the little master struck again. This time, Ivan Rakitic gave a nice pass to Messi, who intelligently beat Bayern Munich defender Boeting and keeper Neuer.
A late goal from Neymar, from a brilliant pass given by Messi, put the result of the tie beyond doubt as FC Barcelona already have a foot in the finals of Champions League.
FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique had no words to describe the intelligence of Leo Messi after the match.
“Messi no longer surprises me,a said Luis Enrique.
a He has ambition and hunger, but I would not say Messi is the only piece of art at FC Barcelona. The work of the whole team was incredible on top of the fact we didn’t concede any goals.”
Luis Enrique also accepted that FC Barcelona are now a step closer to the finals.
“We are a little closer to the final now,” the Asturian conceded. “It was the perfect result that takes us a little closer to Berlin, but we still have a second leg to navigate.
“I am enormously pleased with everything my players did. We defeated a team of huge ability. Their players barely had a sniff at goal and that’s just as pleasing. It was simply a brilliant result.”