ONE by one Lionel Messi is exposing the pretenders to his crown as frauds.
As Manchester United slumped out of the Champions League, Wayne Rooney was forced to doff his cap to the Argentine genius.
And in his own backyard, even Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to concede defeat just as he was in Rome last season.
In the home of the gladiators, Ronaldo effectively threw down the gauntlet to Messi, demanding they settle the debate man-to-man. He lost.
Last night in the Santiago Bernabeu, it wasn't even a fair fight.
Messi was unstoppable, Ronaldo a pale imitation of a man who once thought he could rule the world. How foolish that seems when the celestial presence of Messi is so pervasive.
The little man notched his fifth goal of a quite wonderful week to lead Barcelona to a 2-0 victory in the home of their bitterest rivals.
If his coronation as the planet's leading light is complete, Barca's may have to wait a little longer despite the comfortable nature of this victory.
Three points clear with seven games to go is no banker. Yet the debate over who would take the personal honours was over before half-time.
That ended with Messi's 40th goal of the season. That's 40 goals in 38 starts, a phenomenal statistic that still does not do justice to his brilliance.
As so often, it was a goal crafted on the shoulders of the imperious Xavi Hernandez whose chip into the Madrid box had echoes of telepathy about it.
Messi knew where it was headed, knew that a chested touch inside a flailing defender would give him the time he needed. The deft finish past Iker Casillas simply the punctuation mark on quality.
Ronaldo tried to respond and there were flashes of his cavalier dribbling but, like Madrid, he was constantly second best in a one-sided contest.
Perhaps if Xabi Alonso hadn't headed over from a yard just before the break it might not have been so clear-cut for Pep Guardiola's side. But with Messi orchestrating affairs, even the most blinkered Madrid fan would have feared the worse.
Messi brought a fine one-handed save out of Casillas and set up Danni Alves for what should have been Barca's second before Pedro's left-footed finish ended all debate.
What this will have done to Madrid's morale is difficult to tell. Have they still got the stomach for a fight? Can they do anything to quell Barcelona's quiet storm? On this evidence it's unlikely.
This was their fourth straight defeat to Barcelona as Guardiola became the first manager to notch such an impressive statistic.
But it was more than just a victory, it was confirmation that there is so much more to Barca than style, there is absolute substance.
And with Messi at their head, who would bet against the Bernabeu bowing to Barca once more come May 22 and the Champions League final?
> Posted by: Iconic Magazine
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