Champions League centurion Messi still has more goals to achieve

Marcos Alonso's attention had been diverted for only a second and Lionel Messi was through.

It was not in the last minute, when tired legs and minds are most vulnerable to lapses in concentration, but the third, when Chelsea's rearguard should have been at its sharpest.

Alonso was hardly to blame. The ball ricocheted off him in the penalty area to Luis Suarez and momentarily the full-back's gaze followed to the Uruguayan's foot.

Behind, Messi scampered into space, controlled and drove under the body of Thibaut Courtois. Nine of Chelsea's 11 players were yet to even touch the ball.

There were spells at the Camp Nou on Wednesday when Messi seemed to be playing within himself. In the first half, a few minutes passed when he even locked into an area on the right wing, receiving possession, keeping it, winning a free-kick, taking a throw-in.

The ball was switched to the other flank but came back and Messi had hardly moved. It was as if he had been set a challenge to dictate the match from as small a space as possible.

Chelsea had chances, and Messi admitted afterwards Barcelona's place in the Champions League quarter-finals had not felt safe, until he slammed in a third for 3-0, 4-1 on aggregate.

"It was a really tough game," Messi said. "But we played strong as a team. Scoring so early meant we could control the game, but we didn't feel we had finished the tie until we got our third goal. Until then, we had to fight hard and suffer to achieve a very important qualification for the team."
"I never thought I would see a better player than Diego Maradona," former Barcelona striker Gary Lineker said on BT Sport. "He's the best dribbler I've ever seen, the best passer I've ever seen and he scores more goals than anyone I've ever seen."
- Argentina's 'chance to dream' -
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"We are delighted that Messi's form gives us the chance to dream," Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli said on Thursday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Italy and Spain. "With the great patch that Messi is going through, with the World Cup coming soon, the dream is to take advantage of it and for the team to achieve a connection with him."