The Second Coming: Lionel Messiah saves Barcelona’s bacon

By: Isaiah | March 10th, 2007

Final Score: 3-3. Lionel Messi saved the day and that’s really all there is to it. He took his shots and the last one he had was the most important one. A hat trick for phenom and it will endear him for the rest of his life to Barcelona supporters.

Here are my notes from the game, without timestamps; I’ll write up a full report tomorrow as there is so much to discuss.:

Commentator quote of the day: “Great game to watch whether you’re a president or a fat bellied mustachioed [layman?] watching from the stands drinking your sangria.” Hat is off to you on that one, GolTV guy: you’re an idiot, though the game is fantastic.

Sergio Ramos deliberately kicked Ronaldinho in the ankles in the 21st minute and deserved a red card. Period. If Oleguer gets a yellow for his foul on Guti, Ramos gets a red for his deliberate attempt to take out Ronaldinho.

AND RONALDINHO IS BACK! He is back! Messi scores his second after Ronalidnho and Eto’o combine wonderfully and there was no stopping Messi’s clean-up off Casillas’ save of Ronnie’s close-range shot. Gorgeous gorgeous! This game is absolutely stunning!

Oleguer’s red card is going to hurt, a lot. Cheap foul, but a pretty deserved second yellow. Like I said before, cheap first yellow and it’s going to haunt them now. If Barcelona can find a way to win this game, it’s going to be a serious boost.

Second Half:

Robinho for Raul is a good move and it’s amazing that Madrid have the ability to pull a world class superstar off their bench like that.

Valdes is playing like a madman! He’s denied v. Nistelrooy 3 times now and the Dutchman should probably have scored them all.

The game is’ Madrid’s now and that’s not too surpising. Belletti for Deco isn’t the worst choice; Deco was in danger of picking up another yellow and they were lacking in defense. They’re playing for the draw and there’s no doubt about that.

GOOOOAL! It’s the Lionel Messi show as he scores his third and levels the game in the 92nd minute! Oh my what a series of moves and there he is kissing the crest on his jersey. They’ll love that in Catalunya! The Madrid players are pissed and they’re going to pay for it as Gago gets a yellow for a foul on Xavi.

Barcelona have their tails up now and Ronaldinho gets slammed in the box and it’s his fault? I don’t know how that works, but it’s the end of a classic clasico. No doubt about it this one was fantastic, especially for the neutral. I just wonder what would have happened had Oleguer not received that card. Barcelona were playing beautifully in the first half and this all bodes very, very well for the rest of the season.