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Even For Lionel Messi's Standards, This 'Impossible' Dribble Will Blow Your Mind

Even For Lionel Messi's Standards, This 'Impossible' Dribble Will Blow Your Mind

How did he manage to retain possession here?

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

Before we dive into this article, let's just remind ourselves that this man came fifth in the Ballon d'Or rankings. FIFTH.

Lionel Messi became the first player to score 10+ goals in 13 consecutive La Liga seasons against Espanyol last night, scoring two mouth-watering free-kicks in a dominant 4-0 win.

The Barcelona forward gave us highlight after highlight throughout and we can't stop watching him - especially this particular and assist for Ousmane Dembele's goal in the 26th minute.

We seriously can't get our heads around the fact he managed to keep possession when there's half a dozen Espanyol players around him.

Not to mention the fact he's seen this pass before anyone else. Just take it in, we won't be able to watch this genius forever.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored more direct free-kicks than any club in Europe's top five leagues in the last four years, but it's this vision and precision that stands out most for me.

But of course, his set pieces are mighty impressive.

To put the above stat into perspective, Juventus have scored 18 times from free-kicks thanks to six different players: Paulo Dybala (8), Miralem Pjanić (4), Andrea Pirlo (3), Carlos Tevez (1), Paul Pogba (1) and Federico Bernardeschi (1).


This victory against Espanyol keeps Barcelona at the top of the league and leaves them three points clear of second-place Sevilla and third-place Atlético Madrid.

And Lionel Messi once again played a pivotal role in this sublime performance.

How did this man come fifth in the Ballon d'Or rankings? Seriously?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, La Liga

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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@jackkenmare_