THE one regret to tarnish the euphoria at Anfield is that Barcelona’s 4-0 defeat means Lionel Messi will never match Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally of five Champions League medals Unless, perhaps, he moves to Manchester City.
It was strange to see the diminutive Argentinian stripped so bare of his immortality that even Giffnock’s finest Andrew Robertson saw fit to cuff him round the ear in the opening moments.
At his pomp, that would have provoked untold retribution, but power to mesmerise was snuffed out on Tuesday because of the lack of the players around Messi to help him.
32 next month, he cannot carry a waning Barcelona team on his own.
Tuesday was a night when he needed his old mucker Andres Iniesta alongside him instead of playing out his retirement in Japan.
Real Madrid’s turmoil this season has made La Liga little more than a gentle canter and offered Messi a comfortable platform on which to shine.
He scored his 600th Barcelona goal, 50th career hat-trick and in the Nou Camp just over a week ago was able to scamper around Liverpool at home in his slippers.
Anfield’s more hostile jungle environment was always going to present a tougher challenge and to the astonishment of all, Messi was suddenly not up for it.
Barcelona’s perennial pack leader finally missed his kill, undone by Premier League power and passion.
So is it now time to throw Messi to the wolves? And the Watfords and the West Hams, for that matter.
Barcelona want him to stay at the Nou Camp for life.
But how great to see if the little genius can weave his magic in the Premier League and rub out that biggest question mark over his head in the Cristiano Ronaldo “Greatest-Of-All-Time” debate.
And if we are playing fantasy transfers, why not team him up his old mucker Pep Guardiola.
A win-win situation, surely?
Football just doesn’t seem right with either of them on the losing side – although ahead of the weekend, Liverpool quite rightly are not bothered about any of that.
