With Messi confirming his departure from Barcelona, talks are rife about him joining PSG. The main reason PSG is the frontrunner to sign Messi is the presence of Neymar. Apart from their achievements on the pitch, Neymar and Leo have developed a close bond off the pitch too. The prospect of them playing together brings back memories from their time at Barcelona. In this article, we will talk about five instances when Messi and Neymar destroyed opponents in the UCL.
#5 Barcelona 7-0 Celtic, 13 September 2016
Celtic’s heaviest ever defeat in Europe came at the mercy of Messi and Neymar. Messi opened the account for Barcelona in the third minute after a defense-splitting pass from Neymar. Barcelona’s second goal came courtesy of a brilliant one-two from Neymar and Messi.
In the second half, Neymar scored a terrific free-kick and Messi completed his hat-trick with a tap-in. Neymar scored one goal and provided four assists in this game. The fact that Messi or Neymar played a hand in each of Barcelona’s 7 goals shows the manner in which they dominated the proceedings.
#4 Barcelona 3-1 Arsenal, 16 March 2016
Coming into this fixture, Barcelona had two away goals to their name. Messi had scored a brace in the Champions League R-16 first leg encounter, and he was looking to further improve his stupendous record against Arsenal. Neymar scored in the 18th minute after a superb pass from Suarez.
Elneny equalized with a stunning strike, but Suarez bettered it with a spectacular volley. Messi confirmed Barcelona’s progress to the quarters with a delicate chip in the 88th minute.
#3 Barcelona 3-1 PSG, 10 December 2014
PSG were once again the victims of a clinical Messi-Neymar display. In Barcelona’s final group stage fixture of 2014/15 UCL, Zlatan opened the scoring with a low drive with his left foot. Messi equalized after a sliding finish from close range. In the 41st minute, Neymar produced a sublime curler from outside the box to give Barcelona the lead.
Barcelona looked threatening whenever they were able to find Messi and Neymar in space. Suarez converted a simple rebound and Barcelona avenged a 2-3 loss earlier in the year to PSG in style.
#2 Barcelona 4-0 Manchester City, 19 October 2016
Facing his old manager Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Messi scored a memorable hat-trick. Messi’s first goal came courtesy of some lazy defending in the box. Iniesta’s backheel resulted in the ball falling in no man’s land, and Messi was first to it.
Messi’s second was a neat low drive with his left foot from just outside the box. Neymar missed a penalty, but made up for it with a superb dribble and finish in the 89th minute. This was not the first time that Messi and Neymar destroyed opponents in the UCL, and if Messi joins PSG it won’t be the last either.
#1 Barcelona 3-0 Bayern Munich, 6 May 2015
Topping the list of instances when Messi and Neymar destroyed opponents in the UCL is their performance against Bayern Munich in 2015. There was a lot of trash talk before the build-up to the game, with Manuel Neuer hinting he will stop Messi again, just as he did in the 2014 WC final.
Both teams were defensively solid until Messi broke the deadlock in the 77th minute with a superb low shot from outside the box. Three minutes later, he scored the most famous goal of his career as he twisted Boateng upside down and chipped Neuer. An assist from Leo Messi and a goal for Neymar in the 97th minute sealed the tie.
