Saturday night witnessed another display of individual ingenuity by the Argentine magician to buy Barcelona a ticket to the UEFA Champions league quarter finals for the 13th consecutive time. No matter how sentimental anyone would wanna be in choosing who is the greatest player that have ever played football, he or she will no doubt have to battle with their conscience, if they opt for another player.
In a night and season were the catalan giants have really shown no tangible signs of being the tournament's favorite, the 6 times Ballon d'or winner once again proved why he is regarded as the "Chief Priest" of Camp Nou. Gattuso and Napoli would have prayed to face a Barcelona team without Messi in the line up, but they will have to pray again some other time, as Messi made sure their fears came to reality.
The Catalan captain of course was Napoli's expected nightmare and despite all the ploy to keep the god-like human at bay, he still found his way to wreck havoc on their visitors, thereby helping Setien's side beat Napoli 3-1. No one will be happier about Barca's victory than their current coach who is under pressure, after losing the league to Real Madrid. The team is currently not playing at their best and Setien will be thankful that Messi's sublime performance will buy him more time in the club, as he keeps his hope high on the European trophy.
However, there are worries over the possibility of Barcelona standing a chance against a highflying Bayern Munich side. Judging from yesterday's game, it is obvious that Messi seems to be the only player at his best, not even his striking partner and friend Suarez is showing signs of much impact. Setien have really got a lot to do before they meet Bayern in Lisbon few days from now. Bayern are not doubt the favorites as long as this campaign is concerned, and it will be too risky to throw all hope on Messi against a Bayern side with so much vitality.
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