Wednesday's Champions league night saw more teams book a spot in the competition's knockout stage(round of 16), one of them being Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona. The Spanish champions welcomed Burussia Dortmund to the Camp Nou yesterday for their second leg group match, after the first leg ended in a draw at Signal Iduna Park. In a moment like this where the Catalan giants are struggling to meet up with expectations, a stellar performance against their opponents on Wednesday will sure be a good confidence booster. The team and their coach have come under criticism is recent times after showing signs of slack in their title quests. In the Spanish laliga, Barcelona are currently topping the league with just goal difference, as a Zidane rejuvenated Madrid side are currently mounting pressure on the Champions. With Madrid their league rivals having qualified for the round of 16 already, Barcelona had no option than to explore every possible avenue to coast home with a win in front of their home fans. The 3-1 win over Dortmund handed the much awaited ticket to Messi led side, as they are now topping Group F with 11 points from five games. Inter and Dortmund will have to continue the fight in order to know who finishes second in the group, as both teams have 7 points each. If not for anything, that win will go a long way to buy the embattled Ernesto Valverde a little time in the Club, as the pressure of a possible sack continues to haunt the Barcelona boss.
Messi Still Far From Diminishing
While many other players of his age are beginning to dwindle in impact, the Argentine Captain appears far from his old self, as he continues to wreck havoc on any team that is unfortunate to come across him. Many will stop wondering why the Media is already predicting him to bag his six Ballon d'Or award in no distant time. With Clubs already scouting for a possible replacement for players like Christiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, Pique etc, Barcelona is yet to imagine parting ways with the Argentine Maestro. Dortmund were unfortunate to be added to the list of teams he has scored against in the Champions league, the German side became his 34th victim in the competition, and yesterday's game was Messi's 700th match for the Catalan club. His Stellar performance ensured that Barcelona did not miss the unplanned substitution of injured Dembele, whom injury deprived the privilege of playing against his former club. It was a very disconsolate moment for the young Frenchman, as he picked up his 9th injury since joining Barcelona from Dortmund, I feel for him and I hope he recovers swiftly. The Barcelona captain provided two assists yesterday to Luis Suarez and Griezmann, and still netted one goal to fire his side to the next round of the Competition. No matter how anyone may wanna see it, I think Messi is gonna win his sixth Ballon d'or come Monday. Congratulations Barca!
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