Messi vs the referees part 8

As I've said numerous times before, Messi has been hurt by refereeing decisions a vast amount of times, so this series will be very long, as you can see by the fact we're now in part 8. So without further ado, let's look at more refereeing decisions against Messi.

The first one we'll be seeing happened against Real Madrid in the 2017 Spanish Super Cup, where Ramos fouled Messi inside the box but no foul was given.

Going forward to the second leg against Sevilla in the 2020/21 Copa del Rey, there was a penalty not given after Messi shot on target and Ocampos blocked it with his hands.

In the 2019/20 La Liga season, in an away game against Real Betis, there was a penalty from Bartra to Messi not given.

In the 2012/13 La Liga season, playing against Real Betis away, Messi had a 1v1 chance but it was wrongfully canceled because of a non-existent offside.

And last but not least, playing against Athletic Bilbao away in the 2018/19 La Liga season, there was this brutal stomp on Messi's leg by Yeray which wasn't given a red card for.

That is all for part 8 of this series. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

The king of panenkas

A 'Panenka' penalty or free kick is basically a chip shot, which takes courage as it is a bit, which risks the keeper saving it even if he chooses a side (in case of a penalty) or easily falls to the keeper's hands (in case of a free-kick). But for Messi, this isn't even a risk, as he has performed numerous panenka penalties and even free-kicks. So without further ado, let's look at those examples.

Messi's ability to make panenka penalties is excellent, and he has done so multiple times. In fact, after a panenka penalty against Getafe in 2015, Antonin Panenka, the inventor of the panenka penalty, said it was the best he had ever seen. Below is a video showing most of Messi's panenka penalties.

The next and last thing to see are Messi's panenka free-kicks. For some, this shot is simply too difficult to score, but for someone like Messi, no free-kick is out of his panenka range, even long ones. Below is a video showing a number of panenka free-kicks from Messi.

As we can see, Messi's chip shot ability expands to penalties and even free-kicks, and on an unprecedented amount. This shows how well he can control the power of his shot depending on the situation, an important finishing ability. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

Most dates for the 2021-22 season are set

Yesterday, Barcelona announced the official dates for most tournaments in the 2021-22 season after confirmation from the RFEF and UEFA. All details aren't exactly known, but there's information about some important games, so without further ado, let's look at them.

The league will start on August 14th, though the rival is unknown. The dates for El Clásico and the Catalan derby are yet to be known. There are no details for the end of the season either, though it probably will be in May as it's been on other occasions. For holidays, there won't be any games on December 24th/2th/26th, but there will be on New Year's Eve (December 31st).

For the Copa del Rey, the final will be played on April 23rd of 2022. And for the Supercopa de España, there hasn't been a date, but it's speculated that it will be on January like the previous tournaments. The rival in the semi-finals will be Real Madrid, while Atlético Madrid and Athletic battle in the other semifinal matchup.

For the Champions League, the draw for the group stage will be made on August 26th. These will be the dates for the group stage games:

First game: September 14th/15h

Second game: September 28th/29th

Third game: October 19th/20th

Fourth game: November 2nd/3rd

Fifth game: Novmber 23rd/24th

Sixth game: December 7th/8th

Then for the knockout stage games, the dates will be the following:

R16 (1st leg): February 15th/16th/22nd/23rd, 2022

R16 (2nd leg): March 8th/9th/15th/16th, 2022

QF (1st leg): April 5th/6th, 2022

QF (2nd leg): April 12th/13th, 2022

Semifinals (1st leg): April 26th/27th, 2022

Semifinals (2nd leg): May 3rd/4th, 2022

Final: May 28th, at Saint Petersburg Stadium.

And finally, for international breaks in 2021, the dates will be September 1st-8th, October 8th-12th, and November 11th-16th. For Conmebol qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, the remaining dates are January 27th through February 1st and March 24-29th. The Inter-confederation play-offs will be June 2nd-7th.

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

Messi vs the referees part 7

We've now reached part 7 of this series, with many more errors ready to be seen here, so let's get down to business and continue.

The first error we'll be seeing happened against Sevilla at home in the 2020/21 La Liga season, where Diego Carlos clearly fouled Messi inside the box but didn't get punished for it.

In the same season, against Real Madrid at home, Casemiro clearly fouled him inside the box, but once again no punishment was given for it.

Going back to the 2019/20 La Liga season, playing away against Sevilla, Diego Carlos made a tough tackle on Messi but wasn't given a red card.

In the same season, playing at home against Celta, the referee made up a non-existent foul from Messi and gave him a yellow card. From that free-kick, Celta got the equalizer, but Barcelona fortunately won the game 4-1 afterward.

And last but not least, there's this clear penalty from Wakaso to Messi, when Barcelona faced Alavés at home in the 2017/18 La Liga season.

That is all for this part of the series, so I hope you liked this entry and I'll see you in the next blog.

Barcelona presents two new signings

Yesterday and today, Barcelona presented both Eric García and Emerson Royal as their new signings. Both are young defenders, so hopefully these signings can reach their potential here.

Continuing with Emerson Royal, Messi has played against him on four occasions, which were all Barcelona vs Real Betis encounters since 2019. Messi won all four of those games, with both players playing 190 minutes together (when both were on the pitch). Messi scored 4 goals and gave 3 assists while Emerson was on the pitch, which means 1.9 goals per 90 and 3.3 G/A per 90 while they both played at the same time.

As a bonus, here are some pics with Messi and Emerson:

The defense has had some problems in the last season, so hopefully this can ease the situation. Umtiti is transferable so he may go out in exchange for these two signings, and if a good enough offer comes, Lenglet may go too.

In other news, Barcelona is still in talks with Depay, and since he'll play today with De Jong in a friendly, he could get a little more convinced to join the club. And according to some sources, Wijnaldum is a 'done deal' so he may be announced at some point as well.

Those are all the signings and rumors so far, so I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

All of the stats that Messi led in the 2020-21 season

With the season over, it's time to look at how many stats Messi was the leader at. Once again, Messi topped numerous statistics despite being 33 years old, so without further ado, let's get into those stats.

First is his ratings, where he was 1st according to WhoScored (8.52), SofaScore (8.33), Fotmob (8.35), and FootballCritic (8.7). Clearly, according to most football analysts, he was the best player this season.

Next up are the shooting stats, where he leads in shots (196), shots/90 (5.8), shots on target (91), shots on target/90 (2.7), shots blocked (55), outside the box shots (103), outside the box shots/90 (3.1), open play shots (135), set piece shots (54), set piece shots/90 (1.6), left foot shots (176), and left foot shots/90 (5.2).

Then there's the playmaking stats, where he leads the following: Big chances created (22) (tied with Filip Kostic), passes into the penalty box (145), progressive passes (317), through-balls (23), shot-creating actions (241), and goal-creating actions (38).

Then the carries, where he leads in the following: Progressive carrying distance (8270), progressive carries (517), and carries into final third (192).

And finally, the dribbles, where he's made the most (159) and tried the most (247).

And of course, he was close in other categories as well, reaching top 10 in numerous other categories, which is astounding. That's all I have for today, so I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

Barcelona win against Eibar their last game of the season and Messi wins his 8th Pichichi

Yesterday, a Messi-less Barcelona beat Eibar 1-0 away, securing their 3rd place spot. They didn't have a single shot in the first half, showing that Messidependencia is a very real issue within the team, but fortunately, Griemzann managed to score the winner in the second half. Atlético Madrid was crowned champion of La Liga after beating Real Valladolid 2-1.

This also confirms what had been expected since the last matchdays: Messi has won his 8th Pichichi. With 30 goals in 30 games, Messi has won the Pichichi by a clear margin, though not close to the Golden Boot race as he was 11 goals behind him, but still in 2nd spot. This Pichichi win means the following things:

• Messi won his 5th Pichichi, setting a record for the most Pichichis won in a row, beating Di Stéfano's and Hugo Sanchez's 4-peat.
• Messi equals Jean Pierre Papin's record of 5 consecutive league top scorer awards, set in the 1990/91 season.

Now, the team must focus on who stays and who goes, with many rumors going around this topic, including Koeman, the manager.

As I previously said, I will do an entry detailing Messi's performance in La Liga this season and overall. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

Messi won't play against Eibar

Recent news have confirmed that Messi won't play against Eibar. Instead, he'll instead take some early vacations before going to the national team to play the qualifiers. This means that Messi's season in Barcelona is over.

Argentina's next game will be against Chile on June 3rd, around 2 weeks time from now. Messi's last game with the national team was back in October of 2020 since the qualifiers for March were canceled, so Messi will finally be back to play for the albiceleste. The Copa América isn't far away from now either.

Soon, I will do an entry detailing Messi's performance in the 2020/21 season. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

Messi vs the referees part 6

It's time for part 6 of the series. There is still much more to cover about refereeing errors against Messi, so let's go straight to them.

The first one we'll be seeing is a poorly canceled 1v1 for Messi in the 2017-18 Copa del Rey final. It could have easily been a goal for him but the linesman called a non-existent offside.

The next error we'll be seeing happened in the recent El Clásico loss in April. Nacho made a bad tackle towards Messi inside the box but nothing happened.

And continuing with that game, there was a foul from Lucas Vázquez to Messi previous to Real Madrid's first goal.

Going way back to the 1st leg of the 2005/06 UCL R16, there's this brutal foul from Del Horno to Messi, but no card was given (not even a foul was called). He later received a red card for another attack on Messi.

And to end this part, there's this awful challenge from Pennant to Messi in the 2006/07 UCL season (2nd leg), which should have been punished with a red card.

That's all for the 6th part of this series. I hope you liked this entry, and as always I'll see you in the next blog.

Barcelona lose yet another game and the charge for the title is over

Yesterday, Barcelona lost 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo. Messi gave Barça the lead with a header, but Santi Mina equalized for Celta. In the second half, Lenglet got sent off due to a 2nd yellow, and near the end of the game, a cross from Solari went to the post and Santi Mina scored on the rebound to give Celta the win. Messi's stats were: 1 goal, 1 big chance created, 2 SoT (8 in total), 0.8 xG, 2 key passes, 10 SCA, 0.5 xA, 15 dribbles out of 15, 18 duels won out of 24, 1 foul won, 1 interception, 2 tackles, 10 pressures (6 successful), 3 ball recoveries, 6 long balls, 1 cross, 60 passes out of 69, and 111 touches, which got him a perfect 10/10 rating according to WhoScored.

This was his performance on video:

Here are some fun facts after the game:

• Messi has scored 30+ league goals for the 9th season (non-consecutive), a record in the top 5 European leagues.
• Messi has given 50 G/A at club level for the 13th season in a row.
• Messi surpassed Esnaola for the most minutes played in La Liga (42150 minutes played). He's now in 8th place.
• Messi is now level with Arconada and Diego Fernández for the most completed games in La Liga (411 completed games each). He is now in 16th position alongside them.
• Messi made 15 dribbles for the first time since the 2009/10 season (Opta data).
• Messi played his 400th game at the city of Barcelona. He's also surpassed the 400-goal mark, now with 401.
• Messi scored in a La Liga game for the 300th time.
• Messi scored in a game against Celta Vigo for the 10th time.

With this loss, Barcelona is mathematically out of the race for the La Liga title, as was expected by the recent tie with Levante. Hopefully Barça can secure 3rd spot since that's all that's left for Barcelona in this season. The Pichichi, as stated numerous times before, is sealed for Messi, with 30 goals this season, 7 ahead of Gerard Moreno. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

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.

Barcelona once again dissapoints Messi and the title race is practically gone

Yesterday, Barcelona somehow tied 3-3 with Levante away. A great volley goal by Messi and then a goal from Pedri pre-assisted by Messi gave Barcelona the lead, but Levante came back with goals from Melero and Morales. Dembélé scored to give Barcelona hopes of winning the game, but León ultimately scored the equalizer.

Messi's stats were: 1 goal, 1 pre-assist, 2 big chances created, 1 SoT (6 in total), 0.35 xG, 3 key passes, 5 SCA, 1 GCA, 0.45 xA, 3 dribbles, 6 duels won out of 10, 3 fouls won, 17 pressures (5 successful), 2 long balls, 2 crosses, 37 passes and 67 touches, which gave him a great 9.36 rating according to Infogol.

This was his performance on video: 

Here are some fun facts after the game:

• Messi has scored and/or assisted in his last 13 games against Levante.
• Messi is now tied with Esnaola in 8th place for the most minutes played in La Liga (42060)

Barcelona is now 2 points away from Real Madrid and 4 points away from Atlético Madrid with 2 games left. They're also only 2 points ahead of Sevilla FiveThirtyEight says that Barcelona only has a 2% chance of winning the title, though at least they have a 35% chance of finishing 2nd. As stated before, Messi has the Pichichi sealed with 29 goals, way ahead of his competition.

Barcelona's next games are against Celta Vigo (home) and Eibar (away). Hopefully Barça can win both games and Messi makes a masterclass in those two games as well. But until then, I'll see you in the next blog.

Barcelona ties with Atlético Madrid and the title race is still on

Yesterday, Barcelona tied 0-0 with Atlético Madrid at Camp Nou, the first 0-0 tie Barça has had since Sevilla away in the 2019/20 season. He also met Suárez once again, for the first time since he left Barcelona. The highlight was a great run from Messi where he shot a ball that was saved by Oblak, which ruined what could have been a wonderful goal. Messi's stats were: 2 SoT (3 shots in total), 0.2 xG, 3 key passes, 10 SCA, 0.54 xA, 5 dribbles, 1 nutmeg, 16 duels won out of 21, 9 fouls won, 2 tackles, 11 pressures (5 successful), 5 ball recoveries, 2 long balls, 3 crosses, 49 passes, and 88 touches. A great performance that earned him an 8.23 rating from WhoScored.

This was his performance on video:

Here are some fun facts after the game:

• Messi surpassed Raúl García and is now in 7th place for the most games played in La Liga (518).
• Messi surpassed Molina and is now in 18th place for the most games completed in La Liga (409).

Messi still leads with what now seems an absolute lead in the Pichichi, being en route for a historic 8th. He's still the best player by far in the league as well, according to all the algorithms.

There's not much to detail other than it was a crucial game to win, a draw gives Real Madrid the chance to rise from 3rd to 1st in the league. There are only 3 games left in the league, all of which seem relatively simple (Levante away, Celta at home, and Eibar away). Hopefully, those games can be won, though there's also the need for Atlético and Real Madrid to drop points since Barça are no longer dependent on themselves. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

Messi vs the referees part 5

With no more content regarding goals wrongfully canceled against Messi, I'll expand on this series including cards wrongfully given, penalties not given, penalties that should have been repeated or aggressions against Messi not sanctioned with a red card. So without further ado, let's look at these decisions.

First off is his red card against Chile in the 2019 Copa América 3rd place playoff spot. In his confrontation with Medel he did nothing wrong, just stood his ground as Medel bumped his chest into him, but the referee still gave him the red card alongside Medel.

Next up is a clear aggression from Pulido to Messi that could have easily been sanctioned with a red card, when Barça faced Huesca at home this season. The referee, however, didn't even signal a foul.

Once again, Medel and Messi meet up in this entry, this time for the 2015 Copa América final. There, Medel kicked Messi in the stomach with no intention of going to the ball, which should have been a red card.

Going forward to 2017, Messi faced Uruguay for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Giménez made a tough tackle at Messi which should have been a red card, but the referee only gave a yellow card.

And last but not least, Messi's penalty miss against PSG should have been retaken due to an invasion from a PSG player. He later benefitted from it too, another reason why it should have been retaken.

That's the end of part 5. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

Another Messi masterclass earns Barcelona 3 more points

Yesterday, Barcelona beat Valencia 3-2 with yet another great performance from Messi. Gabriel Paulista gave Valencia the lead 50 minutes in, but Messi, after missing a penalty, managed to score the equalizer. Griezmann then gave Barcelona the lead 2-1, and Messi consolidated it with a great free-kick goal. Soler's late goal didn't serve for much as Barcelona won 3-2 anyways. Messi's stats were: 2 goals, 1 big chance created, 3 SoT (5 in total), 1.84 xG, 7 dribbles, 1 key pass, 1 GCA, 6 SCA, 0.45 xA, 10 duels won out of 14, 3 fouls won, 1 tackle, 5 pressures (1 successful), 2 passes blocked, 4 ball recoveries, 2 long balls, 67 passes out of 86, and 108 touches. A great performance that earned a 10/10 according to Infogol. This was his performance on video:

Here are some fun facts after the game:

• Messi scored his 50th free-kick for Barcelona.
• Messi scored his 130th outside-the-box goal (free-kicks and open play).
• Messi has equaled Ronaldo's free-kick goal amount (56).
• Mestalla became the 6th stadium Mesi has scored 10+ goals in.
• Messi played his 20th game at Mestalla.
• Messi became the only player to score 10+ La Liga goals in 5 different away stadiums.
• Messi surpassed Carmelo Cedrún and is now tied in 18th place with Molina for the most games completed in La Liga (408).
• Messi is now tied with Raúl García in 7th place for the most games played in La Liga (517).
• Valencia became the 3rd side he has scored 30+ goals against.

This was an important game to win, as were the games before and as are the following games in the race for the La Liga title. Messi still leads in the Pichichi race by a good margin, so his Ballon d'Or campaign is looking good so far. The next game will be crucial, as Barça will be facing Atlético Madrid at home, which will probably settle who stands in the title race if it doesn't end in a draw. But until then, I'll see you in the next blog.

Messi in April: Great performances and a trophy

April is over, and we now begin the last month of the season, May. But it's time to go back and look at Messi's performances in April, where he proved that he's still the best player in the world.

In only 6 games, he scored 5 goals and made 1 assist as well as 2 pre-assists. He was the MoTM in 5/6 games and never dropped a below-7 performance. Other stats include: 3 big chances created, 14 SoT (36 in total), 23 dribbles, 12 key passes, 31 SCA, 2.03 xA, 44 ground duels won, 1 aerial duel won, 24 fouls won, 1 through-ball, 8 crosses, 12 long balls, 313 passes, and 509 touches. Amazing stats.

On a collective scale, he was important in Barcelona's victories in La Liga which put them very close in the race, though the game against Granada was a shame. He also won the Copa del Rey as the final's MVP, another title to the numerous he's had in his career.

These were his highlights of the month on video:

The objectives for May is to hopefully win La Liga and the Pichichi, which would also seal the MVP. But until then, I'll see you in the next blog.