Messi
Copa América: Messi rages against referee
Leo Messi accused the referee of bias after Argentina crashed out of the Copa America with a 2-0 semi-final loss to Brazil. Leo Messi felt a number of decisions went against his side in Belo Horizonte as goals from Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino in each half put Brazil through to a final against Chile or Peru. Messi was particularly aggrieved Argentina were not awarded a penalty by referee Roddy Zambrano immediately prior to Brazil’s second goal but that was only one of a number of complaints. The 32-year-old told reporters: «They were not better than us. They found the net early and the second goal came from a penalty they didn’t award. «The officiating was crazy. There were clear penalties, on (Nicolas) Otamendi, on ‘Kun’ (Sergio Aguero). «He (the referee) was ...
Barack Obama offers advice to ‘wonderful’ Messi
The Argentine’s performances have always gained attention from the world’s biggest stars – even renowned politicians have had their say Former United States president Barrack Obama has said Argentina have failed to win the World Cup in recent times, despite having the superlative Lionel Messi in their ranks, because they do not play as a team. The 57-year-old gave a rare interview on football when at the EXMA Conference in Bogota and offered an insight on one of the planet’s top talents. Messi and Argentina, of course, failed to win the World Cup in 2018 and after a disappointing group stage, crashed out in the first knock-out round when they came up against eventual winners France. That comes after the South American giants, and two-time world champions, lost in the fina...
Valencia have won the Copa del Rey
Barcelona were denied an unprecedented fifth successive Copa del Rey crown as they lost 2-1 to Valencia in Saturday’s final, heaping the pressure on under-fire coach Ernesto Valverde. Having had a realistic chance at a treble just a few weeks ago, Barca finish the season with only the league title to show for their efforts, a situation likely to increase Valverde’s unpopularity among supporters. Barca were way off their best in the first half at the Benito Villamarin and deservedly found themselves trailing 2-0 at the break, as Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo Moreno clinically punished the defending champions. Valverde’s men pushed forward desperately after the break and Lionel Messi pulled one back shortly after being denied by the post, but their dominance proved futile as Va...
Greatest European night for Liverpool in Anfield’s history
Liverpool pull off epic comeback against Barcelona to book place in Champions League final. Jurgen Klopp hinted that he didn’t believe Liverpool could pull off a Champions League miracle against Barcelona, admitting Monday that «beautiful failure» was perhaps the best his team could hope for against the Spanish champions. Come on, Jurgen, you need to have more faith. Your players have shown they are capable of anything, but nothing can match this: a 4-0 rout of Barcelona when every odd was stacked against them. They were supposed to have learned their lessons from last season’s quarterfinal meltdown in Rome, when a 3-0 defeat saw them crash out in the Stadio Olimpico, but this was worse. Barca collapsed. Perhaps they started the game believing it was won — too complacent,...
Messi, «The Beast» 600 goals and counting.
Messi scored his 600th career goal, to lead Barcelona to the Champions League final. The champions league is bringing so many surprises this year, so everything was expected from last night match. However, the greatest player in the world had different plans, and after his promise to Barcelona’s fans to bring the European cup to the city, he did not want to disappoint them.
Messi set foot in the semifinals with a triumph for history
It is possible that people have first noticed the scars of Messi’s battle: the slightly swollen nose, or the faint trace of a bruise, that blooms around his left eye. Or he could have realized that the rest of the characteristics of the Argentine were much more worrying: Messi’s forehead was puckered. His face frowned. His offense was one scuffed pass, a deflating climax to a wonderful, flowing move down Barcelona’s right flank. A better ball, a little more composure, and Messi would have had a glorious chance to double his team’s 1-0 lead, not necessarily enough to settle this Champions League quarterfinal, to doom Manchester United, but a significant tilting of the balance ahead of next week’s second leg in Barcelona at the Camp Nou. By that stage, though, Messi was in no moo...