After inexplicably finishing fifth in the Ballon d’Or standings, Lionel Messi has seemingly decided to take out his anger on every defender who dares to try to stop him this season.
The Argentine is dragging Barcelona towards the La Liga title and is preparing to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
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Lionel Messi is currently in the form of his life
11 years ago, the Catalan side were knocked out of the Champions League by the Red Devils courtesy of a Paul Scholes wondergoal and fans can be sure Messi will be keen to exact his vengeance.
Chris Smalling will be the man tasked with stopping the 31-year-old and, although he is confident of carrying out his task, the statistics suggest that confidence is misplaced.
Simply put, Messi has been untouchable this season.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored eight goals in six Champions League games this season and assured fans at the start of the season Barca would do everything to wrestle the European cup back from rivals Real Madrid.
LIONEL MESSI'S STATS THIS SEASON
Not bad for the world's fifth-best player...
- 40 appearances
- 43 goals
- 21 assists
- 7 goals from free kicks
- 4 hat-tricks
- Top scorer in La Liga
- Top scorer in UCL
- Most assists in La Liga
Sir Alex Ferguson tried, and failed, to stop Messi in the 2009 and 2011 Finals, but revealed the almost barbaric methods he would now employ to stop the man hailed as the best ever.
“You need centre-backs who are prepared to drop right on top of Messi and not worry about what is happening behind them,” the Scot wrote in his 2013 autobiography.
“He will drift away to the side. That’s fine. He’s less of a threat on the side than he is through the centre.
“After the inquest I told myself: ‘When we play Barcelona next time in a Champions League final, I would have Jones and Smalling, or Smalling and Evans, right on top of Messi. I wasn’t going to let him torture us again.”
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Ferguson gets within touching distance in 2008
While this tactic may seem somewhat archaic, the 77-year-old employed Park Ji-Sung to perform a similar task on Andrea Pirlo.
The Premier League side travelled to the San Siro in March 2010 knowing they would have to stop the Italian to ensure they progressed.
And, according to the man himself, it was executed perfectly as the midfielder did not get a sniff and United won 7-2 on aggregate.
Pirlo revealed in his autobiography: “Even Sir Alex Ferguson, the purple-nosed manager who turned Manchester United into a fearsome battleship, couldn’t resist the temptation.
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Park Ji-Sung shadows Andrea Pirlo back in 2010
“He’s a man without blemish, but he ruined that purity just for a moment when it came to me. A fleeting shabbiness came over the legend that night.
“At Milan, he unleashed Park Ji-sung to shadow me. He rushed about at the speed of an electron. He’d fling himself at me, his hands all over my back, trying to intimidate me. He’d look at the ball and not know what it was for.
“They’d programmed him to stop me. His devotion to the task was almost touching. Even though he was a famous player, he consented to being used as a guard dog.”
Sir Alex Ferguson's ploy on Manchester United stopping Barcelona and Lionel Messi. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might want to pay heed to the words of Sir Alex ahead of tonight's Champions League quarter
Will Sir Alex Ferguson's Lionel Messi - dailystar.co.uk
Sir Alex Ferguson's advice to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on how to stop Lionel Messi. Manchester United face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford Chris Smalling
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Legit.ng News ★ Champions League quarterfinal clash will see Man United welcome Barcelona to Old Trafford. The Red Devils boss is looking for strategies to stop Lionel Messi and he seems to have consulted his former coach Alex Ferguson
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- Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson believes Chris Smalling, has the quality to stop Messi from punishing his former side this evening. Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Chris Smalling can stop Lionel Messi from punishing the Premier League side in their Champions League quarterfinal clash.
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fussboll.com/2019/04/11/manchester-united-legend-sir-alex-ferguson-explains-how-chris-smalling-can-stop-lionel-messi-at-old-trafford/
After inexplicably finishing fifth in the Ballon d'Or standings, Lionel Messi has seemingly decided to take out his anger on every defender who dares to try to stop him this season. The Argentine is dragging Barcelona towards the La Liga title and is preparing to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
Man United legend Ferguson believes Smalling can stop Messi
Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson believes Chris Smalling will stop Lionel Messi from shining in their Champions League quarter-final clash. The Red Devils welcome Barcelona to Old Trafford on Wednesday, April 10, for the first leg of their UCL last eight fixtures, with the concluding part set for the Camp Nou next week in Spain.
Sir Alex Ferguson confident Chris Smalling can stop Messi
Chris Smalling can be Man Utd's solution to stopping Lionel Messi, Sir Alex Ferguson feels (Pic: GETTY) "You need centre-backs who are prepared to drop right on top of Messi and not worry about what is happening behind them," Ferguson wrote in his 2013 autobiography.
Solskjaer reportedly consults Ferguson on how to stop Messi
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