Lionel Messi's Highlights From The Last Time He Played At Old Trafford Are Stupidly Good

Manchester United will come up against Barcelona in a massive Champions League quarter final on Wednesday night as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will be looking to surprise a few people at Old Trafford in the first leg.

Solskjaer's men, who squeezed through to the quarters thanks to a ballsy last minute penalty from Marcus Rashford, face an even tougher task later this month against a team that haven't lost a Champions League home game since 2013.

But they will have to make home advantage pay later on. To be fair, if anyone is going to do it, it'll be United, who look unbeatable at times under the Norwegian.

That being said they will have to be at their scintillating best when Lionel Messi comes to town on April 10th.

The last time Barcelona played Manchester United at Old Trafford, a fresh faced Messi - without a Ballon d'Or at the time - ran United ragged, giving world football a glimpse of what was to come in the coming years.

It was a Messi performance many have forgotten about, mainly because of Paul Scholes trademark strike in the first half and the fact Sir Alex Ferguson's side progressed to a final they would go on to win against Chelsea.

But we thought we'd remind you all of what happened when the little magician last visited the Theatre of Dreams.

Paul Scholes, you may want to look away now.

Years later Scholes described how scary it was to play against Messi on that historic day at Old Trafford:

"I am not ashamed to admit that in the games against Barcelona I spent a lot of the time just hoping he would take up positions as far away from me as possible." he said.

"Elusive is the word that immediately springs to mind when I think about Messi's style of play. You think you have an eye on him and then - blink - he has gone, only to reappear somewhere else in space, with the ball.

"When you try to face up to him and make a tackle you know what it is he is going to do with the ball. The problem is staying with him.'

Can Manchester United stop the likes of Lionel Messi at the Theatre of Dreams next month?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Football, Manchester United, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Champions League

Jack Kenmare

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.

@jackkenmare_