Argentina destroys Bolivia and finishes top of the group stage

Yesterday, Argentina beat Bolivia 4-1 with two goals from Messi, an assist from Messi to Agüero and a goal from Lautaro Martínez. Messi's stats were: 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 SoT (5 in total), 1.3 xG (FBref), 4/5 dribbles, 1 key pass, 2 chances created, 1GCA, 7 SCA, 9 long balls, 1 cross, 59/74 passes, 7/11 duels won, 2 fouls won, 1 tackle, 1 interception, 5 pressures (2 successful), 2 recoveries, and 94 touches.

These were his ratings:

SofaScore: 9.9

Fotmob: 9.4

FootballCritic: 9.4

AiScore: 8.88

Tigo Sports: 10

This was his heatmap:

This was his performance on video:

And this was his performance with an exclusive cam:

This was obviously enough to win him the official MoTM:

Here are some fun facts after the game:

• This was Messi's 148th match, breaking the record for most games played for the Albiceleste.
• With this game, Messi equaled his record of 3 MoTM awards in a single Copa América, which he did in 2015 and 2016.
• This was Messi's 590th goal in open play.
• It marked Messi's goal Nº 50 in neutral games.
• Messi's 10th brace in 2021.
• It was Messi's 1st match at the Pantanal Arena and in the city of Cuiabá.
• Messi played his 31st match in Copa América, leaving him as the only 3rd place in the historical table. He is 2 games behind 2nd place and 3 games behind 3rd place (if Messi reaches the final/match for 3rd and 4th place he would equal the record then).
• Messi now has 12 goals in the Copa América, leaving him in 12th place in the all-time table along with Angel Romano and Roberto Porta.
• Messi scored his 100th penalty.
• 50th game where Messi has scored 1+ left foot goals in group stage games.
• Messi now has 20 wins against teams ranked 85 and lower at the FIFA ranking in group stage games.
• 10th game where Messi scored against a team ranked 85 and lower at the FIFA ranking in group stage games.
• 140th game against teams ranked 90 and lower.
• 10th game where Messi has scored a brace against a team ranked 85 and lower at the FIFA ranking.
• 50th game where Messi has scored a left-foot goal against a team ranked 110 and lower.
• 10th game where Messi has scored two left-foot goals against a team ranked 110 and lower.

After the game, Messi was seen alongside Lampe (Bolivia's goalkeeper). This is how it went. Lampe later made a post on social media about the encounter, showing admiration and respect for Messi.

Argentina's rival in the quarter-finals will be Ecuador, 4th place in group B. The game will be on July 3rd at Goiãnia, the first time Messi will play in that city. Hopefully, Argentina get a good result and can advance through to the semi-finals. As always, I hope you liked this entry, and I'll see you in the next blog.

Argentina beats Paraguay and qualifies through to the quarter-finals

Yesterday, Argentina got the win against Paraguay with a goal from 'Papu' Gómez and secured their spot in the quarter-finals. Messi's stats were: 2 SoT (3 in total), 5 dribbles, 1 key pass, 34/42 passes, 12/16 duels won, 5 fouls won, 1 interception, 2 tackles, 2 recoveries, and 73 touches.

These were his ratings:

SofaScore: 7.5

Fotmob: 7.9

FootballCritic: 7.1

AiScore: 6.35

Tigo Sports: 7.9

This was his performance on video:

This was his heatmap:

Some fun facts after the game:

• Messi is now 3rd in the table of most games in Copa América history, along with Víctor Ugarte (30). He is 3 behind 2nd place and 4 behind 1st place.
• This was Messi's 40th victory with Argentina in neutral stadium matches.
• Messi is now tied with Mascherano for the most games played with Argentina (147).
• This was his 20th game played against a team ranked 50 or lower in FIFA's ranking in a group stage game.
• This was his 10th game played against a team ranked 54 or lower in FIFA's ranking in a group stage game at Copa América.

Continuing with the fact that Messi now has the joint-most games played with the Argentine national team, both Messi and Mascherano made posts about it.

As previously mentioned, thanks to this win Argentina qualified through to the quarter-finals of the tournament. Their rival is still unknown since the positions of both groups are not yet known, with a round to go in each group. Argentina's next rival will be Bolivia, who's last in the group with no points won yet in three games. Hopefully, Argentina get the win and consolidate their 1st place position in the group. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

Argentina and Chile tie in the Copa América debut

Yesterday, Argentina tied 1-1 to Chile at the Olímpico Nilton Santos stadium, the first time Messi has played there. Messi opened the score with a fantastic free-kick to the top left corner, but Vargas equalized after a rebound from a penalty. Messi's stats were: 1 goal, 3 SoT (7 in total), 3 dribbles, 4 key passes, 3 crosses, 2 long balls, 6 SCA, 29/36 passes, 6/12 duels won, 2 fouls won, 1 tackle, 5 recoveries, 10 pressures (1 successful) and 66 touches. Winning him the official MoTM of the game.

His ratings were:

SofaScore: 8.4

Fotmob: 8.5

FootballCritic: 8.1

Infogol: 10

Tigo Sports: 9.5

This was his heat map:

This was his performance on video:

Here are some fun facts after the game:

• With this goal, he has become the top scorer of free kicks in the national team, with 7 goals, surpassing Riquelme who had 6.
• Messi has surpassed Ronaldo in free-kick goals (57).
• Messi has surpassed Batistuta in the most official goals with the national team (39).
• Messi is now in 4th place for most games played in the Copa America (28), tied with Máximo Mosquera.
• Messi has reached 10 goals in the Copa América, leaving him in 15th place (tied with 9 more).
• Messi has played his 6th Copa América, tying Tesoriere's record with 6 as well.
• Messi played his first game and scored his 1st goal at the Olímpico Nilton Santos stadium.
• Messi received his 10th official MoTM award for the Copa América (awarded since 2011).
• Messi has scored his 30th goal with Argentina in neutral games.
• Messi has reached 30 goals this year.

Argentina's next game will be against Uruguay, a tough challenge for the albiceleste. Messi will also face Suárez once again. 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.

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's '644' boots auction raises €144,790

Yesterday, Messi was proud to announce that the auction for his historic '644' boots raised up to £125,000, or €144,790, all for improving the physical & mental health of children fighting disease.

In his post, he said: "Incredibly proud that the auction for my 644 boots raised £125,000 for an amazing cause - improving physical & mental health of children fighting disease. Thank you @adidasfootball & @christiesinc for making it happen.".

The auction was originally made on April, being announced on February 26th, and its efforts to raise money certainly became a reality. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.

Barcelona wins the Copa del Rey with Messi as the final MVP!

Yesterday, Barça was crowned Copa del Rey champions after beating Athletic Bilbao by a convincing 4-0 victory. Barcelona dominated the game, with a big chance created by Messi to De Jong hitting the post early on in the game, but there were no goals until the hour mark when Messi pre-assisted Griezmann's opener. De Jong quickly made it 2-0, and then Messi unleashed himself as he made a similar goal to the 2015 Copa del Rey final, running from behind the half way line, going to the sideline, went past a Bilbao player and ran to the attacking 3rd of the pitch, passed the ball to De Jong, got it back, passed the ball to De Jong again, and received a good through-ball, where he later got past a Bilbao player and shot it nicely to the far bottom post. After that great goal, Messi got his brace after Alba passed him the ball inside the box and Messi one-shot it into the near post.

His stats were the following: 2 goals, 1 pre-assist, 1 big chance created, 3 SoT (3 in total), 2 dribbles (4 attempted), 2 key passes, 6 ground duels won (out of 11), 3 fouls won, 1 tackle, 4 long balls (out of 4), 2 crosses attempted, 45 passes (out of 50), and 74 touches, which won him the MVP for the final. This was his performance on video:

This is his 35th (or 36th if the Olympic gold medal is counted) title in his professional career. He's also beaten Giggs for the record of most titles won with a single club. Another trophy to his massive collection, and looking onwards for more. Other records broken include: Most goals in Copa del Rey finals, beating Zarra's 8 with 9 goals - Most Copa del Rye finals played in, beating Gainza's record of 9 with 10 played yesterday (shared with Busquets) - Most goals scored in finals, beating Pelé's 29 goals with 31 goals to his name in finals - Most consecutive seasons with 30+ club goals (top5 leagues players), beating Gerd Müller's 12 consecutive seasons with 13 - Quickest brace in regular time of a Copa del Rey final, the previous record was Zuazo in only 10 minutes, but Messi did it in a span of 4 minutes.

There were also records equaled, which include: Most Copa del Rey titles, equalling Gainza's and Belauste's 7 (shared with Busquets and Piqué) - Most braces in Copa del Rey finals, equalling Campanal's 2 braces in separate Copa del Rey finals. As we can see, Messi broke and equaled a lot of records with his Copa del Rey final win yesterday.

After the end of the game, Messi took a picture with various teammates holding the trophy, queueing up just for a picture with the GOAT. Another testament to his greatness and popularity.

Revenge has been taken from the Supercopa de España final three months ago, and now, the focus shifts to La Liga once again. The race between Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona is very heated and equal, so it's vital to win every game from now on. Next games are Getafe at home and Villarreal away.

I will do an entry detailing Messi's performance in the Copa del Rey soon enough, but until then, I'll see you in the next blog.

Barcelona lose El Clásico and hurt their title chances

Yesterday, Barça unfortunately lost 2-1 against Real Madrid at the Di Stéfano stadium. Benzema and Kroos scored for Real Madrid, while Mingueza scored Barcelona's discount (which came from a good Messi pre-assist) which in the end wasn't enough to change the result of the game even after Messi hit the post trying an Olympic goal. Messi's stats were: 1 pre-assist, 2 SoT, 1 woodwork (7 in total), 0.62 xG, 7 dribbles, 2 key passes, 9 SCA, 0.83 xA, 10 ground duels won, 1 aerial duel won, 3 fouls won, 1 tackle, 1 interception, 5 ball recoveries, 7 pressures (1 successful), 2 crosses, 2 long balls, 59 passes, 99 touches. This won him the MoTM according to WhoScored and got him as high as a 9.86 rating from Infogol.

This game was crucial for Barça's title chances, and they blew the opportunity away. Still, the race is very contended between Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona, with only 1 point between all 3 of them.

Messi still leads as the Pichichi and he hopefully wins the MVP as well (as he should). But now, the priority shifts to the Copa del Rey final which will be played next Saturday against Athletic Bilbao, hoping to get revenge from the Supercopa de España loss from January.

With this game, he also broke the record for most appearances in El Clásico, beating Ramos' 44 with a 45. Hopefully, Barça can put themselves together before the end of the season, but until then, I'll see you in the next blog.

Barcelona get a dramatic win against Real Valladolid

Finally, after the international break ended, we got to see Messi play once again. A game dominated by Barcelona could not break the deadlock until added time, giving Barcelona 3 crucial points since they are now 1 point away from Atlético Madrid (who lost against Sevilla). Dembélé's winner will prove to be vital if Barcelona wins La Liga. Messi's stats were: 2 SOT (7 in total), 0.36 xG, 4 dribbles, 1 nutmeg, 5 key passes (1 chance created), 0.21 xA, 9 SCA, 4 ground duels won (16 contested), 1 aerial duel contested, 2 fouls won, 5 pressures (none successful), 2 long balls, 1 cross, 46 passes, and 85 touches, a MoTM performance from him.

He remains the best player in La Liga by a distance, and aside from the MVP and the Pichichi, Messi looks to win La Liga itself as well. Another thing to note is that Messi, unfortunately, didn't get  G/A this game, ending his 14-game G/A streak in La Liga which started all the way back against Valencia on December 19th, 2020.

And, of course, let's not forget Barça's tribute to Messi's at the beginning of the game, bringing his whole family in as well, to commemorate Messi's 767+ games at Barcelona, a nice gesture to his legendary status in the club.

With the recent international break having seemingly done more harm than good to Barça's form, hopefully, they can keep winning games and perhaps finally snatch away Atlético's leadership over La Liga which has lasted so long.

Barça get a huge win against Real Sociedad at Anoeta

Yesterday, Barcelona won 6-1 against Real Sociedad away in Messi's 768th game as a Barcelona player, breaking Xavi's record of 767. The first goal came from Griezmann, which was pre-assisted by Messi, then a goal from Dest (his first in La Liga) which was assisted by Messi with a great through-ball, then yet another goal from Dest, then a goal from Messi, then a goal from Dembélé assisted by Messi which was annulled for offside, then an actual goal from Dembélé not long after, a discount goal from Barrenetxea and finally a goal from Messi to finish the game. Messi's stats in the game were: 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 pre-assist, 1 big chance created, 3 SOT (5 in total), 7 dribbles, 2 key passes, 5 ground duels won, 1 foul won, 1 tackle, 8 pressures (2 successful), 63 passes and 101 touches, completing yet another 10/10 performance.

This was his performance on tape:

A very important victory against 5th place Real Sociedad puts us right where we were before, 2 points ahead of Real Madrid but 4 points behind Atlético Madrid, but now we have a difficult game off our back now. It is clear that Barça is serious about winning the title, and hopefully, considering some of Atlético's last games, they can drop points and Barcelona can finally get to 1st place again.

Meanwhile, Messi leads the Pichichi by 4 goals (23 to Suárez's 19) and is now the joint-top assist provider in La Liga alongside Kroos, Aspas, and Llorente, all with 8 assists, after having very low numbers at the beginning of the season.

Now comes the international break, although Messi won't play it due to some conflicts between South American national teams and FIFA, so it will be mainly Europe WC qualifiers. Action will come back in April 5th against Real Valladolid. But until then, see you in the next blog.

Messi every weekday

To start this year, I will talk about Messi's statistics on each of the 7 days of the week, plus other data on what he did on that day. Without further ado, let's get started.

Starting with Mondays, he only played 10 games in his entire career, adding 8 goals and 7 assists. It was a Monday when they beat Real Madrid 5-0, and also when they scored their first goal in the Copa América.

Credit: AP Photo/Fernando Vergara

On Tuesdays, the number of games grows exponentially, with 125, in addition to having 95 goals and 36 assists. He made his Champions League debut on a Tuesday, scored 4 goals against Arsenal on Tuesday, and did 16 dribbles against Manchester United, a Champions League record.

On Wednesdays, he reaches 137 goals and 61 assists in 181 games. He scored 5 goals against Leverkusen on Wednesday, made his debut with the Argentine national team, receiving a red card, in addition to winning his second Champions League against Manchester United with a header included.

Credit: REUTERS

On Thursdays, he drops the number of games to 46, having achieved 23 goals and 11 assists. He scored his Vaseline goal against Mexico on a Thursday, in addition to giving two non-Opta assists against South Korea in the World Cup on Thursday.

On Fridays, he arrives even lower in number of games, with 23, and has only 10 goals and 5 assists. He scored a substitute hat-trick against Panama on a Friday and made his World Cup debut on a Friday.

Credit: Getty Images

On Saturdays, he peaks in everything, with 304 games played 253 goals and 112 assists. He broke the record for the most goals in La Liga on a Saturday, in addition to the record for the most goals in a single club against Valencia, he was champion for the third time in the Champions League against Manchester United with his goal included, he made a memorable performance in the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao, and made his official debut with Barcelona.

Finally, on Sundays, he also has a high amount in everything, with 189 goals and 69 assists in 202 games, his best goalscoring average. He made his first team debut in a friendly on a Sunday, broke the record for most goals in a calendar year by scoring two goals on a Sunday, and scored his first official goal for Barcelona on a Sunday.

Credit: AFP Photo

As you can see, Messi has his iconic moments on every day of the week, but that's to be expected when you consider that he demonstrates his greatness in each of his matches.

The best dribbler in history

One of Messi's best skills is his dribbling, which he's exceptional on since he was a child, so in this entry I will show some of his statistics that show why he is the best dribbler in history.

First of all, let's look at his numbers: He has done 2,522 dribbles since the 2009/10 season, with an efficiency of around 61%, in addition to having done almost 1,000 more dribbles than second place in La Liga in the last decade. He's also the top dribbler in the Champions League since his debut in the 2004/05 season, beating his closest competitor, Ronaldo, by more than 200 dribbles. In total, since the 2009/10 season, he has been the competition's top dribbler in 7 of the last 12 tournaments (counting the current one). He also holds the record for the most dribbles in a single game in La Liga, with 15 against Real Betis in 2007, and that of the Champions League also, albeit tied, with 16 dribbles in a single game against United in the 2007/08 season.

Credit: EFE

With the national team, he was the top dribbler in the Copa América 2019, 2016 and 2015 (by a difference of 20), in addition to the 2014 World Cup (one of the highest dribbling figures in the history of the World Cups) and 2010. We can see his dominance in in the biggest stages.

Credit: Marca

Clearly with those numbers you can see how good he is in that attribute, and he is for many the best in history in that sense.

Almost, but it wasn't enough

Yesterday, Barcelona tied 2-2 with Valencia at the Camp Nou, where Barça could have easily won with 2 big chances that were wasted, but in the end it did not happen, and Gómez gave the final equalizer. Once again, Messi was the best player in the pitch, with 1 goal, 4 shots on goal (10 in total), 6 dribbles, 1 big chance created, 3 key passes, 1 long ball, 1 cross, 9 ground duels won, 1 aerial duel won, received 3 fouls and gave 59 passes, easily a minimum 8/10.

Credit: Mundo Deportivo

Finally, after more than 15 years playing for Barcelona, ​​he has beaten Pelé's record for the most goals in a single club, with 643 to 642, another great record for the best player in history, and he continues to show that he is one of the best in the world.

Credit: FC Barcelona

The result of the match could be seen coming, since the clinical attribute is quite needed in the forwards of Barcelona (xA of 4 for Messi without any assists yet in La Liga). It must be urgently improved if the title is to be won.

The most recognized records of Messi

In this entry, I will talk about the most recognized records of Lionel Messi, because if I talked about all of them, they would not enter in just one.

Top winner of the Ballon d'Or 

In the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019 he won the Ballon d'Or, 6 in total, the highest amount a player has achieved in history. It also counts within itself the record of most Ballon d'Ors won consecutively, with 4 won between 2009 and 2012.

Credit: Marca

Top winner of the Golden Boot

In the 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19 seasons he won the Golden Shoe, again having 6 in total, 2 more than Ronaldo, his closest competitor.

Credit: Marca

Barcelona's top scorer

With 641 goals to his name, he is by far the club's top scorer, with a difference of 411 over César Rodríguez. He broke it against Sevilla on March 17, 2012, and no one has even come close since.

Credit: Marca

Top scorer of the Argentine team 

With 71 goals in 142 games, Messi surpasses Batistuta as the top scorer for the albiceleste. He broke the record after his renowned free-kick against the United States in the Copa América Centenario (or against Colombia in the Qualifiers months later if he is counted 56 goals).

Credit: AS

Top scorer in a European league

With 448 goals, Messi recently broke the record against Osasuna. The record belonged to Bican in the Czechoslovak league.

Credit: Mundo Albiceleste

Most goals in a calendar year

In the year 2012, Messi achieved the astronomical amount of 91 goals in just 69 games, breaking Gerd Müller's previous record of 85.

Credit: FC Barcelona