Messi goals that would have been part 3

It's time for part 3 of this series. There are still many great goals that could have been from Messi, so let's get right into them.

The first one has to be his recent attempt against Atlético Madrid in La Liga. He ran from the halfway line to the box, dribbling past some players, but his shot went slightly past the goal unfortunately.

Next up there's his attempt against Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of the R16 of the 2011/12 UCL season. There, he made a good run into the box and nutmegged a player before chipping the goalkeeper, a shot which went to the post then out.

The 3rd play we'll be seeing was against Atlético Madrid in the 2008/09 La Liga season away. He made an amazing run to the box and made a powerful shot on goal but it struck the crossbar.

This one is perhaps one of his best goals that didn't end in the back of the net. Against Espanyol at home in the 2016/17 La Liga season, he got a ball from Iniesta, he dribbled past 4 players, and with 4 players pressuring him, shot on target. It was saved by the goalkeeper, but Suárez scored on the rebound.

And last but not least, there's this play against Alavés away in the 2019/20 La Liga season. He sidestepped a player and made a powerful shot on goal, but it unfortunately hit the post.

That was all for this part, so as always, I hope you liked this entry and I'll see you in the next blog.

Messi against German teams

Having gone through English and Italian teams so far, Messi also has quite a history against German teams, even having one of his most iconic moments against one.

Overall, Messi has 17 goals and 5 (6 non-Opta) assists in only 17 games (1340 minutes), an average of a goal every 78 minutes and 49 seconds (1.14 goals per 90), a G/A every 60 minutes and 55 seconds (1.48 G/A per 90), and a G/A (counting non-Opta) every 58 minutes and 16 seconds (1.54 G/A per 90). Quite a good record, in fact, it's his best record against a country out of the top 5.

His debut against a German team was against Werder Bremen in the 2005/06 Champions League season, where he won a penalty that sealed Barcelona's 2-0 victory. And his last game was Barcelona's infamous 8-2 loss against Bayern Munich in the UCL quarter-finals, where he was Barcelona's best player and better than half of Bayern's team, but it wasn't enough.

His record against Germany's strongest team by far, Bayern Munich, is quite good despite the 8-2 loss, since he has 4 goals and 2 assists in 6 games against them, including his wonderful chip in the 2014/15 Champions League semi-finals.

Clearly, Messi has no problem against German teams either, in fact, it's the opposite as it seems they're his favorite victim out of the top 5 leagues.