Lionel Messi put on a hell of a performance against PSG on Wednesday night, as his personal highlights video from the game shows.
Barcelona were always second favourites to qualify for the Champions League quarter finals last night, having got battered 4-1 in the Nou Camp by PSG in the first leg three weeks ago, thanks to Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick.
Advert
During that game Messi was criticised for 'walking' during the game and not doing enough, whilst the young French striker's trio of goals led to people claiming it was the passing of the torch.
On Wednesday, the six time Ballon d'Or winner showed that might not be the case. Mbappe actually opened the scoring from the penalty spot, as Messi ironically had done in the first leg, but from there it was all about the Argentina captain.
The 33-year-old scored an absolutely stunning goal, and also had a penalty saved, and his overall play saw him run the game, often from deep, in a near perfect Messi performance.
As the highlights show, it certainly wasn't for the lack of Messi's effort that Barca didn't pull off yet another near impossible comeback against PSG.
Advert
Moments like the one where he put strike partner Ousmane Dembele through on goal, only for Keylor Navas to save, shows he can't do it all on his own.
Navas had a superb game and, as per both SofaScore and WhoScored, was the only player better than Messi on the night.
The 10 time La Liga winners heatmap also shows the kind of influence he was having in the game, dropping deep into midfield for a lot of his work.
Many considered the all round performance by Barca one of the best of their season, as they had 73% of possession and created 21 shots in the Parc des Princes, and Ronald Koeman called on Messi to stay with the Catalan giants, saying the match should have shown him the club's direction.
Advert
"Messi must decide his own future, nobody can help him with this," the Dutchman said after the 1-1 draw.
"He's seen for a long time now that the team is going in the right direction. And with the changes we've made and the youngsters who are only going to improve, he can't have doubts about the future of this team.
"Everyone can be proud, including our president. We've shown our face and from the first to the last second we saw a team that wanted to win this tie."
One thing is for sure from Wednesday night, don't right Messi off just yet!
Featured Image Credit: BT/TwitterTopics: Football, Barcelona, PSG, Lionel Messi, Champions League