Lionel Messi has now scored 650 goals in his legendary career.
By now, you know the prototypical Messi goal. Cutting in from the right side, the Argentine curls a perfectly placed shot with his left foot into the far corner. Occasionally he’ll score on a deft chip or smash a low shot before a goalie can react and lately he’s been unstoppable on free kicks.
Barcelona and Lyon played to a 0-0 draw at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Tuesday in the first leg of a Champions League Round of 16 encounter, giving a slight edge to the Blaugrana ahead of the return leg at the Camp Nou on Mar. 13.
The first half was a tubthumping affair with Lyon carving out three good opportunities, only to be denied twice by Marc-André ter Stegen while sending another effort blazing over.
Last we heard from Barcelona’s Arda Turan in January, he was facing 12 years in prison for sexual harassment, assault, shooting a firearm in public and carrying a weapon without a license all stemming from an incident last year.
This came on the heels of a 16-match ban last May for shoving a referee while on loan with İstanbul Başakşehir.
As is customary, FC Barcelona walked out to "El Cant del Barça" during Wednesday's Copa del Rey semifinal first leg against Real Madrid. But due to the significance of the occasion — what with it being an El Clásico semifinal — the accompanying music was turned off and the anthem was sung a cappella.
Wednesday night's announced attendance was 92,008, so the result was staggering.
Because someone somewhere loves us, we’re being treated to three El Clásicos between Barcelona and Real Madrid in the next month. It started on Wednesday at the Camp Nou, the first leg in the Copa del Rey semifinals, with a Malcom goal vs Real Madrid leading to a 1-1 draw.
The match didn’t feature Lionel Messi or Gareth Bale in the starting lineups, though that didn’t worry Barça fans too much after they watched their side eviscerate Los Blancos 5-1 without Messi in October.
On Wednesday, FC Barcelona will host Real Madrid in a Copa del Rey semifinal first leg at the Camp Nou. This will be the 239th competitive meeting of the sides — and the 34th in the Copa — but it’s one that many feared Lionel Messi would miss. The Barça captain suffered a thigh injury during last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Valencia, and he only just returned to training today.
In physics, quantum tunneling explains how particles can pass through otherwise impenetrable barriers. It’s how quantum computers work, how the sun produces energy and, most importantly, the only reasonable explanation for this Lionel Messi goal vs Valencia on Saturday.
I’m no physicist, so here’s a proper explanation of quantum tunneling.
Now back to the football.
FC Barcelona’s No. 10 continues to prove his dominance in the world. His incredible career sparked interest for an unusual group of people. Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, Sony Music and Argentina’s PopArt Music are teaming up to premiere “Messi 10 by Cirque du Soleil” in Barcelona on October 10, 2019.
FC Barcelona is calling it the goal of the season. Deadspin called it “the platonic ideal of a Barcelona goal.” Ray Hudson said it was “kaleidoscopic football of the highest order." It was the crowning achievement of the club’s remarkable turnaround against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals — shifting a 0-2 first leg deficit into a 6-3 aggregate victory.
It’s been irregular, but we’ve been treated to some pretty revealing interviews with Lionel Messi of late.