Should Lionel Messi Start against Atletico Madrid?

Cometh the Hour; Cometh the Man.

How things change in a week's time? Last week there was despair and fear of Lionel Messi not being in 2018 next Summer. It was too much for me to even imagine! But on Tuesday night all balance was restored and by the Messiah itself. Such was the brilliance in the performance that everyone have started the "Greatest of All Time (GOAT)" debate once again for the umpteenth time. Everything was stacked against him and Argentina - the altitude, the improbable point situation, surrounded by a bunch of player who has been massively under-performing, a Nation doubting him and the team, the haters waiting to jump on him; in the end nothing of these mattered as Messi decided to end all those doubt by himself.

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The Unquestionable Importance of Umtiti

His arrival at Barcelona may have raised a few eyebrows amongst Nou Camp supporters, but Samuel Umtiti has certainly made his mark. Since arriving from Lyon last year, the €25 million price could even be considered a bargain, given the consistently high form and performance of the Frenchman.

Umtiti expertly navigated his first season at the club, showing absolutely no fear of the responsibility that comes with the Barca shirt, whilst adapting swiftly to the style of play demanded as if he were born for it. His appearances were considered talismanic for a large part of the season, with the team seemingly unbeatable whenever he featured.

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Despite the Near Perfect Start Barca Coach has a Lot to Ponder

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. Henry Ford

Barcelona Football Club fans could not have ever dreamed of such a perfect start. When this season started no one would ever have thought of such a start. The Club was in total disarray with Neymar's transfer and the extremely poor performance against Real Madrid in the Super Cup. From there onward things have turned around a lot, currently we lead the betting charts to regain the La Liga title with a 8/13 Odd in favour (Courtesy of the seven point lead against defending Champions Real Madrid).

If you find those odds compelling at the current point of time, as odds change from week to week, be sure to place your bet on Barcelona with a free bet from Freebets.co.uk on them winning La Liga and Champions League this season. We all believe this is going to happen anyway, might as well cash in on it.

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Barcelona stars aiming to shine ahead of the Russia 2018 World Cup

It might seem like a distant light on the horizon right now, but in reality, the Russia 2018 World Cup is just around the corner. With national team places up for grabs ahead of the illustrious tournament, more than a few players will inevitably be thinking ahead and aiming throughout the 2017/18 domestic campaign to prove they’re worthy of selection with their best displays.
Of course, there’s no shortage of international stars amongst the ranks of Barcelona, some of whom already know the joy of hoisting aloft the most coveted trophy in world football. Impressively, amongst the 24 players in the current Camp Nou first team squad list, only one represents a country outside the top 15 favourite countries. Indeed, such is the current strength and depth at the Catalan club, it’s entirely possible that every current Barca squad member could feature at Russia 2018. Few clubs can boast that strength of quality in their roster, that’s for certain!
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the five favourite countries, along with the Barcelona players who will be hoping to book their passage to Russia next summer.

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Could man marking be the key to stopping Messi?

- "Messi" (CC BY 2.0) by jeroen_bennink -

When the final whistle blew at Montilivi it was after another Barca master class as they ran out 0-3 winners against Girona. Two own goals and a Luis Suarez strike was enough to keep Barcelona top and stretch their unbeaten run to 6 games this season.

It is 6 wins from 6 and all the early signs are ominous for the chasing pack including bitter rivals Real Madrid. Barca look as fluid as ever and are a real threat going forward. Teams will be scratching their heads and wondering how to stop Barca picking them apart and running riot. It often turns into a rout once they get to 5th gear.

The glimmer of hope for the rest of La Liga will be the fact that Messi was contained last night after being man marked for the entire game. His threat was snuffed out by defender Pablo Maffeo as the youngster didn't give Messi a moment’s rest. The on loan defender from Manchester City stuck to his task and was able to negotiate the mastery of Messi.

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FC Barcelona - 6 , Eibar - 1 | Extended Highlight Videos | Barca Match Videos

FC Barcelona continued their winning ways in the League with a 6-1 thrashing of Eibar at home. Once again it was Lionel Messi who was the chief architect of the victory scoring four meanwhile the heroes from weekend - Paulinho and Dennis Saurez repeated their feats scoring one each.

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Is Ousmane Dembélé Barcelona's King in Waiting?

Before he moved to one of the world's largest football clubs, French prodigy Ousmane Dembélé was already being hailed as a future Ballon d'Or winner by pundits. Commenting on the young star's early career at Borussia Dortmund, Bleacher Report's Dean Jones not only suggested he'd win the coveted trophy but that he's better than Cristiano Ronaldo was when he was 20. Pointing to his decision making abilities and, importantly, consistency, Jones rated Dembélé as one of the top young prospects in the world and certainly one to watch.

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Why Barca shouldn't Sign a Replacement for Neymar?

When you make the right decision, it doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks. Caroline Kennedy

Barca completed the biggest sale in footballing universe when PSG decided to spend 220 million of their Oil money to purchase Neymar's release clause. I still can't get over that amount! 220 Million! Can you believe that? Three seasons back we were rigorously arguing why 100 Million for a footballer in pure nonsense. If that was nonsense, then what is this! God Knows! Only thing I know is we live in a completely screwed up World. Funny part is, now I wonder how much will be Messi be worth if we put him in the market. We better not give any ideas. The management urgently needs to re-look at Messi's release clause of 300 Million. Some idiot may come up with a bid! Now looking at the middle east rivalry between UAE and Qatar, will Manchester City take a shot at 300 Million? Who knows!

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Despite the Disappointment, Neymar's Transfer is God-Send for Valverde

Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. Dennis P. Kimbro

Barca fans haven't got over the Neymar transfer thing yet! It came as a shock for all. The buy-out clause was kept at 220 Million to make sure that no one even in their craziest dreams never dreamed of making a bid. This was one guy who was supposed to become the future of Football Club Barcelona; someone who is untouchable; someone who will take the mantle from Lionel Messi and defines the club's footballing destiny for the future. But then it wasn't supposed to be. We do hear some calls of traitor aimed at Neymar; but let's all grow up; Neymar decided to take his chances to be one of the greatest. With Messi around he may not get that shot at greatness at Barca, so he decided to move and we are 220 Million to the good.

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Barca's New Coach have a Tough Job in Hand

It's yet another transition time at FC Barcelona. With Ernesto Valverde replacing Luis Enrique, or better put Valverde following Luis Enrique, FC Barcelona is entering a new era. Entering into the new Era there is a lot of fear in every Barca fans mind. With the Anti-Barca media promoting the idea of Golden Barca period ending soon or have already ended; Ernesto Valverde have a huge task of proving them wrong. His first task would be to regain the La Liga title, which we are behind Real Madrid as per the odds from sport.netbet.co.uk. And then exist the bigger business of Champions League; we were the most powerful team in Europe in recent times only to be dislodged by Real Madrid who became the first team in modern Champions League history to win back to back titles.

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FC Barcelona vs Villareal Highlights | FC Barcelona - 4 , Villareal - 1

FC Barcelona secured a 4-1 victory against Villareal at the Camp Nou in their continuing pursuit of La Liga title. With only two matches left, Barcelona is slowly running out of time to retain the title. Let's see how it all pans out with Madrid having three tougher matches against Sevilla, Malaga and Celta.

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FC Barcelona vs Osasuna Highlight Videos | FC Barcelona - 7, Osasuna - 1 | Barca Match Videos

FC Barcelona destroyed Osasuna by a 7-1 scoreline at the Camp Nou last night to consolidate on the gains they made in the El Clasico. Messi, Gomes, Alcacer all scored twice and Mascherano socred his first goal for Barca from the spot to complete the 7-1 scoreline. Find the videoas below:

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Lionel Messi's Goals against Real Madrid | Barca Images GIF

Lionel Messi was instrumental in securing a 3-2 victory against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernebeu on Sunday. Here are the GIF animations of Messi's glorious nights.

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Barca vs Real Madrid Match Highlights | Barca - 3, RM - 2 | Barca Match Videos

Lionel Messi produced a sensation display of football to secure Barca a last-gasp 3-2 victory over Real Madrid. Watch all the highlights below.

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Last Second Messi Winner Keep Barca's Title Hopes Alive | Barca - 3, Real Madrid - 2

- Lionel Messi Celebrating Scoring the Winner against Real Madrid -

I think the great thing about Leo is that he continues to surprise. After so many years he is still decisive. Andres Iniesta

Lionel Messi once again proved why he is still considered the Best in the World. This was a must win game for Barca, lose this the title officially goes to Real Madrid. With this last minute victory FC Barcelona stays alive in the title race. This edition of the El Clasico was expected to a fiery encounter. It lived up to it's billing; with the pendulum swing in opposite direction every 15 minutes. When James Rodriguez equaliser came in the 86th minute, all hopes for staying alive in La Liga ended for each one of us; but there was time for a last twist; that too with the very last kick of the match. In essence this match was a battle between Lionel Messi and Real Madrid and it ended with him leaving a definitive mark with his 500th Goal for the Club. What a time to bring up your 500th!

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Barca vs Malaga Highlights | Barca - 0, Malaga - 2 | Barca Match Videos

Highlights from Barca's 2-0 loss away from home. Barca missed a great chance to go back to top of league. How many more chances will they get? Find the video below. Check out Pictures from Malaga vs Barca Match.

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Did the Nightmare Night against Malaga ended Barca's Title Hopes? Malaga - 2, Barca - 0

- Luis Saurez and Kameni in Malaga vs Barca Clash -

Defeat against Malaga? I don’t know if it is a step back but it is a missed opportunity. Andres Iniesta

There is no way I can describe the feeling that is running through my mind properly. I waited for a whole dayto cool down but still am fuming. How many times, how many bloody times? This has been the script of the whole season; Real Madrid is still on top of the league just because we don't take our chances when they slip up. Instead we go and slip further! Two weeks back when I was looking at the fixture list; for me this was one of the biggest week. This was the perfect chance for us to take the destiny of the league back in our hands. This was the week of the Madrid derby. Madrid has not been playing spectacularly but they were always finding heroes to bail them out. But I did expect that luck to run out against their City rivals. And run out it did. Their draw against Atletico was sheer misfortune; nevertheless it was a great chance for us to move to top of league and cut the deficit out. Instead we ended up like this!

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FC Barcelona vs Sevilla Highlight Videos | FC Barcelona - 3 , Sevilla - 0

- Lionel Saurez Scoring Spectacular Goal against Sevilla -

FC Barcelona continued their pursuit of the League title with a 3-0 destruction of Sevilla at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi who was returning from a one-match suspension scored twice along with Luis Saurez who scored the spectacular opener destroyed Sevilla in a span of 9 minutes. Barca's intensity in pressing was evident from the word go, but when Sevilla thought they have seen the worst part over - the Messi, Iniesta, Neymar, and Saurez combined well to put all hopes out of the Sevilla side. The first goal came in the 25th minute and the third came in the 33rd minute. Enjoy the video below.

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Barca vs Granada Goals and Highlights | Barca - 4, Granada - 1 |Barca Match Videos

- FC Barcelona Players Celebrating Scoring against Granada -

FC Barcelona continued their pursuit of League Leaders Real Madrid with a 4-1 victory against Granada away from home in the 29th Round of La Liga 2016-17. Saurez, Alcacer, Rakitic and Neymar all scored for FC Barcelona in a night which may not have been comfortable but in the end was turned out to be comfortable. The positive from last night's performance was Alcacer's perfromance - he started lacking confidence but as time went, he started getting into teh game and ended with a goal and an assist.

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Lionel Messi against Chile GIF | Barca Images GIF

LIonel Messi scored the decisive penalty in Argentina's home World cup qualifier against Chile. This was a crucial tie and victory in this see Argentina in third place in qualifier. The performance of Argentinian National team was less than impressive especially in second half but what matters is the result which went Messi's way.

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Valdes saves against Henry from UCL Final 2005 GIFs | Barca Images GIF

FC Barcelona's recent European domination started on that wonderful day in Paris when Barca emerged victorious against Arsenal to secure their second Champions League title. Most of us remember the spectacular Eto'o equalizer and the even more memorable Belletti winner. But Victor Valdes kept Barca in the game with a series of saves. The three best saves was against Thierry Henry who was in sensational form and wasn't meant to miss any of those. Here are the GIF images of those spectacular saves. Enjoy!!!

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Lionel Messi's Wonder Run against Valencia GIF | Barca Images GIF

- Lionel Messi in action against Valencia -

Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi was instrumental in securing a 4-2 victory over Valencia at Camp Nou. The come back from behind victory helped Barca to remain in pursuit of the La Liga title. Below is the GIF image of Messi's amazing run in the match; unfortunately this one didn't end in goal.

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FC Barcelona vs Valencia Highlights Video | FC Barcelona - 4, Valencia - 2

- FC Barcelona Players Celebrating against Valencia -

FC Barcelona continued their pursuit of League leaders Real Madrid with a 4-2 victory over Valencia at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi scored twice and Luis Saurez and Andre Gomes both score one each. Enjoy the video.

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FC Barcelona to face Juventus in Champions League Quarter-Finals

Spanish Champions will face Italian Champions Juventus in the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League 2016-17 Season. It's a repeat of the 2015 Champions League final, which Barca won 3-1 with Iniesta being the man of the match. The two legged tie will see Dani Alves, the ex-Barca right back will face his old club after moving for free last summer. After paired in the toughest duel in Pre-Quarters against PSG, Barca was hoping for a bit of relief. But Champions League draw hasn't given us any relief in last few seasons, and we got the high flying Italian Champions. For Barca one relief is that we will be playing the second leg at home.

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Messi vs Iniesta - Magical Dribble GIFs | Barca Images GIF

- Iniesta and Messi in action for Barca -

There is no shortage for dribbling talent at Barca. Most of them are pretty good in that part as well as other skills in football. Iniesta and Messi has been considered Barca's very best in recent times for dribbling skills. Neymar is threatening lately to break the duopoly. Find below two amazing GIS video of these two maestros talent. Which one is the best as per you?

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Messi vs Neymar Free Kick GIFs | Barca Images GIF

FC Barcelona have been blessed with two of the best free kick takers in Lionel Messi and Neymar. Here are two GIF videos of them going for the left corner from free kicks. Which one is your favourite?

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