this time last year people were arguing ronaldo was best in the world while others said he hadnt done it in a big game, nobody is arguing about messi. is it just because he's popular? wat big games has he done it in? the whole barca team have been on song recently so its been easy for him to play well in a tight game does he ever stand up? last night he huffed and puffed but xavi an inesta were far more effective! i think messi is class and hes only 21 but its ironic that when ronaldo was scoring important goal every week (with a better goals per game ratio than messi) people said he wasnt doing it in big games yet the rules have changed for the less arogant argintine!

speedy12 (Fermanagh) - Posts: 592 - 29/04/2009 10:32:06    270954

Barcelona are gone lads, they just came up against a machine last night. Cant see the Barca back four especially with no Puyol or Marquez holding Drogba quiet.

GetOverTheBar (Tyrone) - Posts: 1388 - 29/04/2009 11:46:18    271028

Barcelona will still go through i dunno where peple are getting this new found confidence in Chelsea they didnt have a shot on goal all night only for the bad back pass,you cant win the match without the ball what are the odds that Drogba wont be rolling around the ground for most of the match next week at home he migth actually want to play,im still going for Barcelona can only see Chelsea hurting them at set pieces but i think with Chelsea having to attack more it will suit Barcalona,Speedy yeah Messi was quiet enough but everyone is allowed an off day and the reason people will give him another chance is he isnt a diving moaner like the portugeese playin at United.

UptheDeise (Waterford) - Posts: 225 - 29/04/2009 12:37:27    271080

barcelona shud do da business in stamford bridge. in all fairness there will be goals is chelsea will hav to go and win at home. Barcelona regular bak 4 gettin bit too much criticism. chelsea played very deep last nite and had no possession and now outlet for it either, they surely can't get thru playin like dat .. . also alex and ivanovic are weak links in chelsea defence along wit bosingwa. tink will be a 2-2 draw

Kinnear (Westmeath) - Posts: 158 - 29/04/2009 15:10:10    271269

Barca weren't much to look at last night. Bored off me head with it.

RAM85 (Westmeath) - Posts: 978 - 29/04/2009 15:46:01    271310

ivanovic is a good defender, shows good pace.

messi has done it plenty of times in big games, watch la liga every week and see if he plays bad?

iniesta is quality, best centre midfielder in the world! essien had serious problems with him in comparison to gerrard

titus (Longford) - Posts: 390 - 29/04/2009 16:24:00    271357

speedy12 what are you on about. you obviously only ever watch united play and have only seen messi once-yesterday. messi does it every week. the ball is never more than inches away from his feet. he didnt play great but still caused problems and only got the ball taken of him once. ronaldo loses it at least 15 times a game going on his pathetic runs.

messi also has a brain and gave a brilliant through ball for eto'o but was wrongly called offside. when was ronaldo ever man market by basically two men like messi was last night? when has ronaldo ever had to play against a team who put 11 men behind the half way line? NEVER. messi is in a different league. save your judgement until you actually see messi play as much as you have ronaldo.

with the space left when chelsea TRY and attack next week barca will tear them apart. how can anybody say chelsea done well last night. their team costs over twice the amount barcas does. so what are they afraid of? because barcalona are the best team in the world and bar a miracle for an english team barca will win it. realistically how long do people think chelsea can hold that onslaught out again for. chelsea, united and arsenal HAVE to play like that against barca because they know they are inferior. even united the "world champions". they know barca are much better. they are AFRAID to play them in a real game of football. barcelona are the best team in the world no matter what happens in the champions league

VISCA EL BARCA- more than a football club

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4124 - 29/04/2009 17:17:26    271458

Every team has their style of play, just because Barcelona tank Valladolid and Murcia and the likes 3-0 4-0 5-0 etc doesnt mean they are the greatest side in the world, they played a team last night, that, lets be honest, completely suffocated the life out of them and gave them no room. And bar Bojans chance, Barca in effect created nothing.....Ps, if we are getting theoretical, AC Milan have just as effective attacking force as Barca....

GetOverTheBar (Tyrone) - Posts: 1388 - 29/04/2009 17:25:42    271474

well we then can also thank the likes of borough and hull for handing an easy title to united every year. works both ways

and the like of them english teams are way behind the spanish league technically and tactically.

also henry should have had a peno, eto'o missed a one on one and henry missed an easy chance aswell because he took 10 minutes on the ball. as i said its hard to play when 11 men are behind the ball. where are chelseas goals going to come from because home advantage counts for nothing against barcelona. they will have 70% again

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4124 - 29/04/2009 17:39:25    271505

Nil all at home is not a disaster. Barca are the better team. Chelsea will have to attack more in 2nd game and Barca are brilliant at the counter attack. Its very much in the balance but i'm sticking with my Catelonian friends.i

corkcelt (Cork) - Posts: 4388 - 29/04/2009 19:37:10    271622

good point speedy, he's more likeable as a person so maybe doesnt come in for as much criticism. First off, Messi is top quality, no doubt about it, but he didnt perform on the big stage the last night, if people cant admit that then they have a bias... I have no doubt that if the roles were reversed then ronaldo would be getting totally slated.
The defences in spain are poor in comparison to england and messi wouldnt get to the type of attention top players get in england. By the same measure ronaldo has to face this every week and still has better returns in the english league than messi in the spanish league. To further the point barca are miles ahead of the vast majority the teams in la liga, whereas utd have a tougher time. Im no fan of ronaldo but at the same time im not blinkered enough to ignore the facts

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 29/04/2009 19:42:06    271626

he didnt "perform" as he was man-marked by two players and chelsea had 11 men behind the ball. saying that he didnt play bad either. when ronaldo has a quite night he continually loses the ball.

also the defences arnt worse in spain and he has a better return as he takes free's and penos. messi dosnt. also you have to take in to account when ronaldo gives his pass the charges straight for the box. the only time messi is in the box is when he runs in there and has a shot

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4124 - 29/04/2009 20:48:18    271671

The commentator said it all at kick off. "The brilliance of Barcelona versus the power and committment of Chelsea.

Alas for romantics like me the power and workrate of premiership teams usually wins nowadays. Chelsea defended en masse, as United did in both games last year, and brilliance was stifled.

But not fully. Never mind the score, just watching Iniesta, Messi, Xavi and Toure was enough enjoyment for the week. The match was that good that it seemed to be over in no time, and I am leading the call for twenty minutes each way in the premiership.

And Pique? Who let him go? Second best United defender I have ever seen after McGrath, and even Paul couldn't play 40 yard defence splitting passes.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 29/04/2009 21:19:37    271696

In response to those who think that Chelsea will be picked apart by Barcelona's attacking prowess in the second leg as Chelsea "have" to open up, you'll find that Stamford Bridge is a notriously caustrophobic pitch, its very small, they will have even less room than at the Camp Nou, as for Chelsea opening up in the second leg, I would assume their tactics will be much similar, Malouda and Drogba providing the outlet, perhaps Lampard and Ballack a bit more advanced. It will be the direct ball again at Pique and whichever other centre half Barca pull, most likely Toure, to combat Drogba. Its certainly advantage Chelsea, with Bosingwa going right and Cole going left to combat Henry and Messi.

GetOverTheBar (Tyrone) - Posts: 1388 - 30/04/2009 15:19:18    272452

If Chelsea put Cole straight back into the team and onto Messi then they're making a big mistake. Bosingwa did a great job on Messi(even if he did have help), so why change it when it works? Alot of people, myself included, thought Cole's absence would see Messi run riot, but if Cole had been playing there's a good chance Messi would've played alot better than he did against Bosingwa. Hiddink's a shrewd man and will know what to do.

mid-mon man (Monaghan) - Posts: 1680 - 30/04/2009 16:57:33    272562

but getoverthebar a weaker barca already beat a stronger chelsea of the park 2 years ago in stamford bridge. sorry but if barca can create the chances they did with 11 chelsea men behind the ball they will create a lot more and better chances when chelsea have to go forward. all pitches are the same size as they have to meet FIFA and UEFA standards. i might seem smaller but a weaker barca already beat them well at stamford bridge

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4124 - 30/04/2009 17:52:39    272634

Of course the defenses are weaker in spain, look at barca's defense, and they would be considered strong in spain... I personally am happy that Chelsea showed that all the attacking power in the world can be stopped. Dont forget its a team game and Chelsea are a more balanced side than Barca. If chelsea want to play that way they are entitled to. What is so different between barca deciding to play attacking football and chelsea defensive? It got them a good result didnt it? That was the first time barca hadnt scored at home all year (another indication of the quality of spanish defenses). Its similar to guys complaining about hard tackling. Its as much a part of the game as anything else so what is the problem? Good players can do both (Rooney, Gerrard, Mendieta in his prime, Tevez, Fabregas etc)

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 30/04/2009 21:40:33    272823

im not sayin he isnt wortld class and i watch la liga games most sat nites because im on a drink ban before games, my point is in the big games (not the average la liga game) he often doesnt live up to the hype and i think its left unnoticed because neutrals find him more likeable. all said he's 21 and will prove me wrong sooner or later but gimme an example of him winning a huge game for barca, scoring a goal like ronaldo did against porto, roma or chelsea when nobody else could get through? if i had to pick one for a big game id have ronaldo. messi may become the world best but ronaldo is the world best now. thats my opinion anyway

speedy12 (Fermanagh) - Posts: 592 - 02/05/2009 17:00:36    273929

no messi is the best now. ronaldo may have got them goals against rom etc but he still didnt play well and didnt he miss a peno in the uefa cl final and semi. and for the amount of big games he's played in he would have to play well sooner or later. also ronaldos a striker messi isnt so he's expected to score. and even when messi dosnt "preform in the big games" he still plays well. no one ever gets the ball of him. ronaldo loses it countless times every match.

also when united met barca last year it was and unfit messi that turned up, not ronaldo. he was basically left to play united by himslef. he beat the "best player in the world" from a standing position.

i remeber messi getting the crucial goals that beat werder breman 2 years ago. barca were going out at that stage. also v real madrid. scored a hat trick. first player to do in i about 2 decades and he isnt a striker. messis in a different league to ronaldo.

so your team is down 3-0 at half time and you have one sub. messi or ronaldo. who would you bring on speedy. its going to be messi every time

32_4_1 (Meath) - Posts: 4124 - 02/05/2009 18:33:33    273950

ITS NOT EVEN HALF TIME A THE WEE MAGICIAN MESSI IS PLAYING A BLINDER BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD THIS YEAR AND THAT'S COMING FROM A UNITED MAN

williewentwell (Tyrone) - Posts: 1712 - 02/05/2009 19:42:23    273965