Opinion | Messi magic casts a spell in Manchester? Not so fast, there is hope and a potion
- History suggests the quarter-final tie might not be a done deal as Barça have never won at Old Trafford in four matches
- Solskjaer is likely to take a leaf out of Fergie’s book and try to mark Messi out of the game, like Patrice Evra did in 2008
No player will receive as much attention as Lionel Messi at Old Trafford on Wednesday when Manchester United play Barcelona. The 1,900 travelling fans – Barça were entitled to 3,700 tickets but returned many – know Messi is the man who can do what no other is capable of.
The 73,000 United fans who will be in the stadium, plus millions watching on TV know it, too. Remember how spellbindingly good Messi was when he last played in England against Spurs at Wembley in September.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his coaches saw his genius at first hand on Saturday night when he left Atletico Madrid’s magnificent central defensive pairing in a daze as he went on to score.
It’s nearly a decade since Messi scored a wonder header in Rome to help Barça beat United in the final and he scored again when they did the same at Wembley two years later.
He’s now 31 but remains in stellar form. No player has scored more goals (33) in La Liga this season – almost twice as many as any Real Madrid player.
Messi’s teammate, Luis Suarez, is second with 20. Both scored in the dying minutes of Saturday’s first-versus-second clash against Atletico which all but assured Barca of their eighth title in 11 years. Both did the same in the final minutes of last week’s game at Villarreal when they were 4-2 down after 89 minutes.