Messi magic and De Gea blunder ease Barcelona past Manchester United

If there was one tiny glimmer of consolation for Manchester United, it was that they encountered Lionel Messi on one of those nights when he appeared to belong to a different species. Messi loves the big occasion and, once again, he used the Champions League to provide yet more evidence for the already bulging portfolio that tells us nobody, not even Maradona, has ever taken football artistry to a higher level.

For United, it was simply too much. Lionel Messi versus Phil Jones? It was like watching a landscape artist comparing brush strokes with a painter and decorator. Yet, in fairness to Jones, he was not the only one in United’s colours to suffer. David de Gea, for one, will remember this as a personal ordeal. It was a night, ultimately, that should hasten the process of Ole Gunner Solskjær putting together a new defence. Mostly, however, it was an occasion to savour Messi, to be grateful the sport has him, and hope that he plays football for as long as he is capable of sprinkling this form of precious magic on the elite occasions.

Continue reading…