Tottenham facing
Spurs fail to cope with yet more Messi magic
IT IS the quiet way he does it that kills you. The sudden explosion into life when he had looked almost bored.
Lionel Messi ripped the heart out of Tottenham last night at Wembley in the way he so often does. The little Argentinian scored two goals, set up another two and hit the post twice more.
Apart from that, Messi did not do much. Other than win the game for his team and plunge Tottenham’s Champions League campaign into mortal danger.
Spurs tried. How they tried, in a marvellous topsy-turvy game. After a Hugo Lloris error handed Philippe Coutinho a simple goal and Ivan AT WEMBLEY Group B look grim after two straight losses. They often do after the quiet man strikes.
This may well have been the last time Messi stepped out at Wembley, the scene of one of his finest moments, when he mesmerised Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final.
For an already injury-hit Tottenham team, the prospect of facing Messi was the last thing they needed. The fact Barcelona had arrived in the middle of a mini-crisis – having lost at last-placed Leganes in the middle of a three-match run without a league win – counted for little.
There was an air of apprehension around Wembley, even though Spurs’ Champions League record there had been good. But five players were out, including Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, and after just 92 seconds those fears were confirmed.
Of course, it was Messi’s angled ball that found Jordi Alba galloping down the left. Lloris had no need to dash out but the Frenchman did and Alba nipped away from him to cross for Coutinho to plant his shot past Spurs’ back-pedalling defenders and into the empty net.
It was a disastrous start and Spurs struggled to recover. Kane stung Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s palms with a fierce, 25-yard drive but things rapidly got worse.
Another delicious ball from the strolling but deadly Messi saw Luis Suarez chest down. Coutinho