Leo Messi is attracting all the headlines after his stunning display but there are other aspects of FC Barcelona’s performance that also stand out
The 3-0 win against Bayern made it nine wins in a row for Barça in the Champions League. Home or away, the Catalans have won every game since losing to PSG in the second group stage match. Ajax (2), Apoel, PSG (3), Manchester City (2) and Bayern have all failed to get results against FCB.
Barça have won all six Champions League games played this season at the Camp Nou, scoring 13 goals and conceding just two.
Leo Messi celebrated his 100th European fixture in style, adding two further goals to what is already a record haul in European competitions, taking his tally up to a massive 78.
But in ten semi-final appearances, Messi had only ever found the target twice, both against Real Madrid in 2001. He’s doubled that number now.
And that’s 53 official goals in his account for the season: 40 in La Liga, 10 in the Champions League and threemore in the cup.
Messi has scored more goals against German clubs (14) than he has against teams from any other country.
The attacking threesome of Messi, Neymar Jr and Luis Suárez now have a combined total of 110 goals between them – making them the most productive frontline in European football.
Barça have now kept clean sheets in 32 games this season. In 55 games, Bravo has gone unbeaten 21 times and Ter Stegen an impressive 11.
And that’s also six clean sheets in a row – four in the league and two in the Champions League. Barça have scored 23 goals (an average of 3.8 a game) to no reply against Valencia, PSG, Espanyol, Getafe, Cordoba and Bayern Munich.
Jordi Alba once again was the top passer in the Barça team with 60, followed by Dani Alves with 51. Both had an 80% accuracy rate, and played key roles both in attack and defence, as this heat chart shows:
And here’s a chart of Messi’s good and bad passes against Bayern:
Leo Messi was named UEFA Man of the Match after the game. Here’s a summary of his stats:
LEO MESSI |
|
Minutes played | 90 |
Goals | 2 |
Assists | 1 |
Total shots | 4 |
Shots on target | 4 |
Total passes | 40 |
% pass accuracy | 80% |
Attempted runs | 15 |
Successful runs | 10 |
Interventions | 80 |
Fouls committed | 1 |
Fouls received | 4 |
Player passed to most | Rakitic (9) |
Player passed from most | Dani Alves (14) |