Lionel Messi's assist underlined his superiority over Chelsea more than his two goals
Not many players in the world can boast about beating Thibaut Courtois by shooting between his legs. Lionel Messi did it twice in one night - either side of half-time - to ensure Barcelona's progress to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League at Chelsea's expense.
A 3-0 win at the Camp Nou saw Antonio Conte's run in Europe come to yet another premature end and, despite their committed performance, he knew his side were thoroughly beaten by a once-in-a-generation player who continues to mesmerise the audience and frustrate his opponents.
"We are talking about a player who every season finishes with 60 goals and assists. We are talking about not a top player but a super top player. He made the difference." - Antonio Conte on Messi
A 4-1 aggregate may look humiliating to Chelsea but they were also desperately unlucky, hitting the post four times in the tie. Still, it leaves a lot of questions to be asked about whether Conte can take this squad any further in multiple competitions.
But the night belonged to Messi. He had finally reached the 100-goal landmark in the competition - second after Cristiano Ronaldo, but getting to the landmark in 123 games compared to the Portuguese star's 137 games.
A brace against the Blues - both goals set up by Luis Suarez - had the Camp Nou in raptures. They were no easy goals. His first came at the 2:08 mark - the fastest he has ever scored for club or country. The second came just after the hour-mark to put the tie to bed and deny Chelsea any hope of a comeback.
"I did not expect Messi to shoot from there. I was too late to close my legs and it is a mistake on my part." - Courtois on Messi's first goal
This is what Messi does. Of the 100 he has scored in the competition, 20 have come against English clubs - the highest among all UEFA nations.
However, it was the second goal in the 3-0 win that stood out the most. It was a landmark goal - Ousmane Dembele's first in a Barcelona shirt. But it was how Messi created it that made it so special.
Messi created the goal out of nothing
Just as Conte had said, Barcelona scored during Chelsea's best moments. When the scoreline read 1-0, Eden Hazard was in the clear in the final third, cutting in and almost getting a shot off before Samuel Umtiti came to the rescue with a crucial block.
The ball looped into the sky and landed near the Chelsea back line who seemed to have had it under control before Messi stripped the ball away from Cesc Fabregas near the centre circle and sprinted away.
First, he hurdled over a desperate challenge from Andreas Christensen. The Danish defender didn't stand a chance. The Argentine magician then pushed the ball past Cesar Azpilicueta before running around him to regain control of the ball.
That was the signal for most fans to get off their seats, a wave of anticipation sweeping across the stands. He'd destroyed Real Madrid before from a similar position. He'd eviscerated Bayern Munich in a similar fashion. Surely a second-tier European side such as Chelsea would be no match?
No, Messi had other plans.
His feet are ball magnets and more often than not, the ball always does his bidding. And just as the ball sticks to his feet, defenders gravitate towards him whenever he has the ball.
That is exactly what happened here. Azpilicueta immediately went on the defensive, attempting to force him inside on to his "weaker" right foot and into traffic as four other Chelsea players attempted to track back and stop Messi's progress.
All this while, Messi kept looking up, waiting for support. Luis Suarez arrived and immediately made a diagonal run to create space for Messi. It only half-worked. By drawing out Antonio Rudiger from his position, he had created space - but not for Messi.
Messi's run allows Dembele to steal in virtually unnoticed
This was when a third Barcelona player entered the frame. Nobody had seen him. Television cameras had failed to pick him out too. It wasn't until he arrived in the box that everyone else saw what Messi saw.
Five white shirts who were converging on Messi (and Courtois) suddenly turned their attention to the new intruder as Messi squared a pass just as he entered the box. And Ousmane Dembele had so much time to receive the ball and set himself up for the shot - that is how much space and time Messi and Suarez had created for him.
In most cases, one would have expected the player at the receiving end of that pass to shoot it first-time. But thanks to Messi's urgency to get forward and attract every Chelsea defender, Dembele had enough time to take a touch and shoot.
And a beautiful shot it was too. Fired into the top corner, Courtois did get a hand to it but the power of the shot saw it barely take a deflection as it screamed into the top corner of the net.
For the team...
This goal defined Barcelona. They have rarely scored on the counter-attack this season (only two of their 72 La Liga goals this season were from counter-attacks) and yet Messi's touches, his speed on the ball, his tactical intelligence, Suarez's positional play, and Dembele's unseen run had all meshed together beautifully to double Barcelona's lead.
Messi could have easily taken the ball past Azpilicueta - as he proved for the third goal, scoring from an even tougher position cutting out from the inside. But his reaction after the goal proved just how much he wanted his new teammate to succeed.
Under pressure following his 'potential £135.5 million' fee, Dembele had suffered from injury and taken time to adapt to Ernesto Valverde's system. There was no better game to score his debut goal - a goal that would not only improve his confidence but also give faith to his teammates that the worst was behind him.
Spin doctors of transfer rumours have repeatedly made claims suggesting Messi wanted Dembele out of the team. The celebration for the goal clearly suggests otherwise. The young Frenchman is here to stay.
As for Messi? He is sure to stay too, despite the riches of other clubs looking to prise him away from the land he rules with his golden left foot.
"I think he wants to stay in Barcelona for the end of his career. I think it's the right way for him. He's writing with his team-mates a great story with Barcelona." - Conte