FC Barcelona Messi Skill Breakdown 2013 La Liga Week 4

FC Barcelona's offense was spectacular versus Sevilla. Neymar had his best match yet in a Barcelona uniform, but poor defense reared its ugly head near the end of the match and Sevilla came from a 2-nil deficit to tie on a horribly defended corner kick just as stoppage time began. Nearing the three minute mark of three minutes stoppage, which means more than three but less than four, plus the time between the goal being scored and the restart, Xavi Hernandez, the magnificent strategy-guiding mid-fielder, has the ball:

Xavi knows exactly what to do with the ball, especially considering the circumstances- give it to Lionel Messi:

Knowing what is at stake, Messi pushes the ball toward the opponent's goal. Remember, the referee cannot blow the final whistle while one team has an advantage:

Still moving forward, Messi slows down while giving the ball several light taps:

Then, Messi seems to uncharacteristically falter. He runs past the ball, but it is rolling too slowly to keep up. It seems the only thing Messi can do is pass the ball toward the center, but nobody is there:

Seizing the opportunity, the defender lunges toward the abandoned ball:

...and falls right into the trap. With a deft instep kick, Messi slips the ball past the defender on the outside:

Messi quickly pushes the ball goalward, where another defender awaits. Messi leans toward the center of the pitch, which is the easier move for the left-footed player:

...but it is more trickery, and he again goes around the outside of the defender:

Smartly, the defender cuts between Messi and the ball:

...and they collide. A lesser person, by which I mean every other player in the world, would have collapsed to the ground and rolled around in a frustrating attempt at winning a penalty kick:

Instead, Messi pushes inside. In desperation, the defender tries to hold him back with his arm, giving Messi yet another chance to attempt to win a penalty kick:

With all of his weight leaning into Messi, the defender finds himself in a precarious position when Messi slips past and continues his run:

Comically, when that defender finds himself on the ground, his teammate protests that it was Messi who caused a foul:

Somehow, despite this obstacle, Messi manages to catch up with the ball and drive it across the goal just before it crosses the endline:

The rest is a bit of a miracle- the goalkeeper kicks the ball directly to Alexis Sanchez who promptly returns it to the net to secure another Barcelona victory. ¡Visca el Barca!