3 times Lionel Messi failed to score for Barcelona
Lionel Messi is arguably one of the best players to ever grace the game. His mastery of football and goal pedigree have seen him rise to the very top of the game. The little magician has scored 663 goals in a record 768 appearances for Barcelona.
Comparisons have been made with Cristiano Ronaldo due to their almost superhuman statistics and the unmatched rivalry over the last 15 years.
Messi is the type of player that can turn a game on its head. Nothing epitomises this more than the wonderful solo goal he scored against Getafe in 2007.
For someone who has enjoyed so much success on the pitch, it is hard to remember that the Barcelona side Messi is a part of have been decimated on a few occasions. We look at 3 matches when Messi and Barcelona were humiliated by opposition teams.
3) Liverpool 4 Barcelona 0
Barcelona as a team has struggled to get past the knockout phase of the Champions League in recent years. They were even knocked out by underdogs Roma at one time.
In 2019, Barcelona were sitting pretty after a 3-0 first-leg win over Liverpool at Camp Nou. In fact, Messi scored twice in the match, including a sumptuous freekick from outside the box. All Barcelona had to do was defend the lead at Anfield.
Liverpool were depleted in attack without the services of the dup of Mo Salah and Robert Firmino. However, the home side put four goals, including a goal from a cheeky corner kick, past a hapless Barcelona to send them crashing out of the Champions League.
What made the result worse was that Messi and his Barcelona teammates failed to even get on the scoresheet at Anfield.
2) Bayern Munich 4 Barcelona 0 (7- 0 aggregate)
Current Bundesliga and European champions Bayern Munich clashed with Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League during the 2012/2013 season.
During the first leg in Munich, Thomas Müller scored in each half while Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben contributed a goal apiece in the win. It was widely expected that Barcelona would tighten up their defence in the second leg of the tie.
However, in the reverse fixture at the Nou Camp, Barcelona crumbled even further. Robben and Müller both scored as Bayern won by three goals with no reply from Barcelona. Messi failed to score or assist his teammates and Barcelona exited the competition 7-0 across the two legs.
1) Barcelona 2 Bayern Munich 8
The two European giants battled it out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2020. However, this ended up being Barcelona's heaviest defeat of the 21st century so far. The fixture took placed after the resumption of football following the COVID-19 lockdown.
While fans were expected a razor-close contest, Thomas Müller opened the scoring with a brace in the first half and Phillipe Coutinho also scored two against his parent club. Ivan Perisic, Serge Gnabry, Robert Lewandoski Joshua Kummich also got on the score sheet as Bayen ran out 8-2 winners on the night.
Messi did not have an impact on the game and failed to hit the back of the net. Barcelona managed to get on the scoresheet twice through a Luiz Suarez effort and an own goal from David Alaba.