El Clasico: 5 best Lionel Messi performances

Because Messi is fast, nimble-footed, clinical in front of goal, and with otherworldly vision, hundreds of millions of football fans consider him to be the greatest of all time. The fact that he always dribbles past opponents at will and usually requires between three to five players for teams to negate his strengths lend serious weight to their high opinion of Messi.

However, the consistency with which Messi dazzles viewers and blows spectators’ minds is the main reason he’s considered to be better than Maradona, Zidane, Di Stefano, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo De Lima, and the likes – after all, each of these legends never spent over a decade dominating world football.

Still, on the issue of dominating football, the Spanish teams are undebatably the best in the world. Evidently, their hegemony reflects in the fact that Spanish teams (Barcelona and Real Madrid) have won the last four Champions League trophies, and their players (Ronaldo and Messi) have now scooped up nine consecutive Ballon d’Or awards (Ronaldo was at Manchester United when he won his first Ballon d’Or accolade).

As a result, El Clasico is the biggest rivalry and the most anticipated domestic match in world football. However, out of all the stars to have participated in El Clasico matches, Messi (the all-time El Clasico record goalscorer) is undeniably the best.

Interestingly though, even the best players have matches which made the world recognise them as the most exceptional talents of the beautiful game. So, since Messi is an all-time great, let’s assess his top five El Clasico performances.

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Messi dribbling past three Real Madrid players. Image courtesy SI.com

#5 Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona - 27 April 2011

Real Madrid crushed Tottenham 5-0 on aggregate in the quarterfinals of the 2010/2011 Champions League, while Barcelona routed Shakhtar Donetsk 6-1 over two legs. Fortunately for the neutrals, Real Madrid and Barcelona were drawn together in that season’s Champions League semifinals. However, it was the Catalans who prevailed.

Indeed, Jose Mourinho set up his Real Madrid team to defend deep and play ugly; he even had Pepe man-mark Lionel Messi. That decision mattered not as Messi silenced the Bernabeu with a fabulous brace to ensure Barcelona returned to Camp Nou with a victory.

The best player in history. Image courtesy Marca

The Messi moments

1. Messi’s first goal arrived after Pepe had received a straight red for a dangerous lunge on Dani Alves. Ibrahim Afellay skipped past Marcelo to send a teasing cross into the six-yard box which was met by Messi who put the ball though Casillas’s legs to give Barcelona a one-nil lead.

2. Messi’s second of the night was miles better than his first. The Argentine collected a Busquets’s lay-off inside the Real Madrid half, just two metres ahead of the centre circle. As soon as Messi picked up the ball, he fearlessly ran at the Madrid defence, leaving Lassana Diarra, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Raul Albiol, and Marcelo in his wake.

Messi proceeded to roll the ball with his right boot past Casillas, therefore, giving Barcelona a healthy advantage to take back to Camp Nou. That goal was his 11th in 11 Champions League matches of the 2010/2011 season.

Rating: 9.3

Commentator’s Messi praise

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. How good is he? A mere supernatural goal from Lionel Messi. He has wriggled and tip-toed his way to the gates of Wembley Stadium. He is just brilliant. Best player in the world bar none.

Look at the pace, the touch, the control and then the finish which is absolutely perfect.

#4 Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid - 17 August 2011

Messi doing his best to humiliate Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas. Image courtesy Dream Team FC

Barcelona and Real Madrid met for the umpteenth time in a Supercopa encounter. The match was a classic as both Spanish giants matched each other blow for blow until Lionel Messi took matters into his own hands to land the decisive punch which knocked the men in white out cold.

The Messi moments

1. The best way to stop Messi (if something like that exists) is to defend really deep, but Mourinho’s men made the unforgivable mistake of springing a high defensive line, and Messi punished their oversight. Messi spotted the run of Iniesta and threaded him a sublime through ball, allowing the Spaniard to chip Iker Casillas in the Madrid goal. Fast forward six and a quarter years later, and that pass still ranks as Messi’s best El Clasico assist.

2. Messi’s second was sumptuous. The Argentina captain took a Pique’s back heeled pass and strode towards goal, carrying the ball past Khedira and Ronaldo, before dinking it with his right foot over Casillas. That goal is now iconic because of Ronaldo sliding on his knees and watching Messi put Barcelona 2-1 up right in front of him.

3. If Madrid thought they were leaving the Nou Camp with a point after Benzema's equaliser, they could not be more wrong. With the game balanced score-wise, Messi acrobatically fired home Adrian’s cross to make it Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid.

Rating: 9.3

Commentator’s Messi praise

How can you stop this vision? Excuse me; we just witnessed a goal that is catatonic. Phenomenal football. There’s no answer to that. Imagination in 3D. Astonishing chip home.

#3 Real Madrid 3-4 Barcelona - 23 March 2014

Messi evading Marcelo's tackle. Image courtesy Soccer Nation

This game was as good as any El Clasico could get. This match bore witness to two teams with attacking intent and was duly filled with goals. However, as both teams and both sets of players tried to outdo each other, a certain Number 10 guaranteed his Barcelona side a first leg 3-4 Supercopa lead.

The Messi moments

1. Messi is much more than a glorified Filippo Inzaghi because apart from scoring a ridiculous number of goals, his assists are inch-perfect and breathtaking. True to his vision, Messi weighted an impressive ball to Iniesta who found himself in an acre of space, after being left unmarked by Dani Carvajal. Iniesta controlled Messi’s glorious pass and blasted a left-foot shot into the Real Madrid goal.

2. It did not matter that Real Madrid had restored parity and gone on to take a 2-1 lead after Benzema had struck twice from crosses in less than three minutes. Messi started the move which resulted in his first for the night.

With the help of Fabregas and Neymar, Messi found himself in the box, took the ball past Marcelo, and pulled the trigger right before Carvajal and Marcelo got a tackle in. His shot left Diego Lopez in the Madrid goal with no chance, making the contest even once more.

3. Though Ronaldo scored from the spot after the referee wrongly awarded a penalty to Madrid, Messi was not deterred in his mission to bury Barcelona’s archrivals in their backyard. After the referee adjudged Ramos to have fouled Neymar inside the Madrid box, Messi effortlessly dispatched the awarded penalty to make it 3-3.

4. When no one was able to tilt the delicately poised tie, up stepped Messi to hammer his second penalty of the evening beyond the stretching palms of Diego Lopez.

Rating: 9.5

Commentator’s Messi praise

Lionel Messi hat-trick, the little genius has done it again.

#2 Barcelona 3-3 Real Madrid - 10 March 2007

Messi celebrating a goal at the Bernabeu

How a 19-year-old Lionel Messi outshone the likes of Raul, Nistelrooy, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco, and Casillas still feels like a fiction. The match in which Barcelona hosted Real Madrid at Camp Nou was a keenly contested affair, with both teams grabbing a point each as neither side was able to secure the winner.

In retrospect, Barcelona would have lost had it not been for Messi who produced one of the best attacking performances in El Clasico history.

The Messi moments

1. A poor clearance from Liliam Thuram meant the ball fell kindly to Ruud van Nistelrooy who gave Real Madrid the lead. However, Messi equalised when Samuel Eto’o played the ball into his path. Messi’s first touch was gold, and it took him goalbound, before slotting the ball past Iker Casillas.

2. Messi’s second goal came after Barcelona found themselves behind for the second time in the match. Oleguer was guilty of tripping Guti in the 18-yard area. Nistelrooy scored the resulting penalty to double his tally for the night. But Messi dragged Barcelona level by slamming home the rebound of Ronaldinho's shot after Casillas initially spilt it.

3. If it weren’t for Messi, things would have gone from bad to worse for Barcelona. Oleguer received his marching orders for the evening after a second bookable offence. After being a man down, Barcelona conceded from a Ramos’s header – off a delightful set-piece delivery from Guti.

Yet, it was Messi who had the final say to bring the match to 3-3, despite Madrid’s goal and man deficit in the game. Ronaldinho shrugged of Salgado’s challenge and found Messi with his pass. Messi took the ball past Miguel Torres, dribbled around Ivan Helguera, and shot low and hard to Casillas’s right. Messi’s goal was an injury-time equaliser which broke the heart of the majority of the 98000 spectators.

Rating: 9.7

Commentator’s Messi praise

This is the game that is going to be remembered as the Lionel Messi match. 19 years of age, he gets a hat-trick. This hat-trick he scores for ten-man Barcelona. You can’t write a script like this.

That wonderful left of Messi has struck again.

#1 Real Madrid 2-3 Barcelona - 23 April 2017

It takes 'only' five players to stop Messi. Image courtesy Who Ate all the Pies

Barcelona were trying to catch Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga log. So, to Barca, the game was a bubble-or-burst. Lose and Real Madrid would have a hand on the La Liga trophy; win and Barcelona would draw level and leapfrog Real Madrid at the top of the table since La Liga uses head-to-head to rank clubs once two teams are level on points.

Ultimately, with the world watching from 185 countries, Barcelona won the match thanks to a majestic performance from Lionel Messi. His showing was his best, most emotional, and most matured in El Clasico history.

The Messi moments

Messi is so good that the gameplan of any Madrid coach is to stop him by all means, mainly through dark arts. It is the reason why Casemiro, Marcelo, and Ramos kept clattering into Messi on the night and even bloodied his mouth.

Now, what separates Messi from the rest of the footballers on this planet is that instead of letting opposition players get in his head each time he was on the receiving end of perpetual fouls, Messi always chose to elevate his game and punish the guilty party through dribbles and goals. And that was what he did at the Bernabeu in April 2017.

1. There was a high intensity to Messi’s play on the night. He picked the ball up and wrong-footed both Modric and Carvajal to hit the ball under the arms of Keylor Navas, hence, drawing Barcelona level.

2. Messi is the only player who adds such finesse to a powerful strike. His goal which arrived after Madrid had temporarily equalised was just top-draw. Sergi Roberto started the move, but it was Jordi Alba who pulled the ball back into Messi’s track. Messi rifled a ferocious strike into the bottom right corner of the Madrid goal. And despite Navas defying the laws of physics in his attempt to keep out Messi’s hit, the ball travelled too quickly beyond keeper's leap.

Rating: 10

Commentator’s Messi praise

Lionel Messi has done it again. He is superhuman. Lionel Messi just exploded La Liga into life. Another chapter in the incredible story of this little man.