BARCELONA • Trust Lionel Messi to pull another wonder strike out of his party bag of tricks.
The "panenka" is one of the most impudent techniques in football, and the Barcelona forward took it to another level on Saturday by applying it to a free kick against Espanyol.
Social media went wild after his dinked opener put his side on course for a 2-0 win at the Nou Camp - he also scored their second - keeping the Spanish champions 10 points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid at the top of LaLiga.
It was a fitting way for Messi to mark his 675th Barcelona appearance, which moved him ahead of Andres Iniesta into second on the club's all-time list - 102 adrift of Xavi Hernandez.
Afterwards, his manager Ernesto Valverde admitted that he "had no idea he would hit (the free kick) like that".
The Spaniard said: "I would love to say that we had planned it, but it's not true, it's up to him. He didn't need my opinion and he scored."
Although Messi made a low-key return for Argentina after ending his exile from the national team during the international break, playing his first game since the World Cup last June, Valverde was delighted there was no hangover.
He added: "Messi is the same player no matter what team he is playing in. He would be the same if he played in Australia. We are delighted to have him, it's a luxury for me to coach him."
The Barcelona talisman has now notched 41 goals in all competitions this season - the 10th straight year he has recorded over 40 strikes.
The 31-year-old, whose side are unbeaten in 17 league games, also joined former Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas for the most number of victories in LaLiga (334).
Atletico, who will visit Valverde's men in the league on Saturday, kept alive their faint hopes of winning the title after a 4-0 away thrashing of Alaves.
Saul Niguez, Diego Costa, Alvaro Morata and Thomas Partey all got on the scoresheet and, post-game, Saul promised he would "fight to win the league for the fans".
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
With weeks of the season left the Blues had an outside chance of securing European football by finishing seventh but couldn't overtake Wolves. May. After a relatively comfortable home win against Burnley, the Blues rounded out the season with an entertaining 2-2 draw away at Tottenham. So that was the 2018-19 season.
Soccer | epl | Game Preview - washingtonpost.com
stats.washingtonpost.com/epl/preview.asp?g=2018010110028
Perhaps Jose Mourinho should direct his ire where it needs to be at the moment - at his disjointed Manchester United side - as the Red Devils try to start the new year off on a positive note
Baines Confident Of Toffees Turnaround Under 'Big Character
Football: Kane 'proud' of England response to race jibes in
Champions League: FC Porto Go Through With Extra Time VAR Penalty Kick FC Porto converted a penalty kick awarded following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review three minutes from the end of
Football: Porto go through in Champions League with extra
Ramsey poised to sign five-year, €40m Juventus deal Independent.ie Aaron Ramsey will join Italian giants Juventus next summer after agreeing a deal which will pay him €40million over the next
Aaron Ramsey agrees five-year deal with Juventus | Daily Mail
Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi is courting interest from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus and Villareal. The 17-year-old attacker is one of England's best players in his age group and has made four
Callum Hudson-Odoi: Chelsea 'confident' teen sensation will
With his hat trick versus Switzerland, he's asked some big questions of Messi and co.
Hat-tricks Archives - Messi vs Ronaldo
messivsronaldo.net/tag/hat-tricks/
The world's greatest footballers - but who's the best? The battle of Messi vs Ronaldo has the world gripped. In this website, they go head to head in terms of goals, stats, achievements, abilities and much more.
Lionel Messi Talks Ronaldo, World's Best Players, Juventus
Jurgen Klopp pinpointed a mounting injury list as the explanation for Liverpool's sub-par performance in a 1-1 draw at West Ham on Monday that leaves the league leaders just three points clear of
Premier League - Page 3 - Champion Delight - Football News
Real Madrid They say you should never go back. However, Mourinho has shown in the past that such an adage is one he has no time for, demonstrated by his return to Chelsea for a second stint after departing Real Madrid in May 2013.
Sacked Mourinho will be next Real Madrid - mirror.co.uk
'We have to improve mentally and have a spirit of sacrifice': Gianluigi Buffon sends warning to PSG team-mates ahead of Manchester United clash Wenger steals the show as he Neymar rejects
The Reds stay on top of the Premier League on 69 points, just ahead of Manchester City on 68 points. Stylish Liverpool thrash Watford to stay top. By. Former football superstars to play
Stylish Liverpool thrash Watford to stay top - The Bruneian
Australian PM heads to church, football after 'miracle' election win . Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place. by Agencies , (Last Updated January 13, 2019)
Willian gem sinks Newcastle as Chelsea cement fourth place
Singapore striker Ikhsan Fandi is hitting a purple patch in Norway as he found the net in his third consecutive match for second-tier club Raufoss in just 11 days. On Wednesday, the 20-year-old gave his team a 33rd-minute lead at third-tier Fram Larvik in a Norwegian Football Cup second-round tie.
Vasileios Zikos Chua, 17, included in Fandi Ahmad's Merlion
0 comments:
Post a Comment