BARCELONA: Lionel Messi will remain at Barcelona for the rest of his playing days, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said after watching the Argentine maestro destroy his side’s Champions League hopes.
Messi, 30, scored twice and set up a goal for Ousmane Dembele as the Spanish champions elect beat the Londoners 3-0 at the Camp Nou on Wednesday for a 4-1 aggregate win.
The double took Messi to 100 Champions League goals in his time at Barcelona while his opener, coming after 129 seconds, was the fastest goal of his illustrious career.
Messi has frequently been linked with a big-money move to the Premier League but Conte is convinced the striker will retire at Barcelona.
“I think Leo wants to stay until the end of his career with Barcelona,” Conte said.
“We’re talking about an impossible situation. I repeat: we must have great respect for this player. We are talking about a fantastic player.
“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.”
After full-time, Conte left the field with a congratulatory arm around Messi’s shoulder but Chelsea had chances too, most notably through Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rudiger, who both hit the woodwork.
Alonso also thought he should have been awarded a penalty in the second half after he went down under the challenge of Gerard Pique.
Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud believes his team were unlucky and deserved more.
“Obviously on both matches I regret the posts or bars that we could have. You have to have some success, a little luck,” Giroud said.
“What will stick in the throat is the penalty not given where it is quite obvious that Marcos is pushed in the back or he would have at least tried to shoot. It’s very hard, I think it would have changed the game.”
Messi, however, once again proved the difference, applying two clinical finishes through Thibaut Courtois’s legs and, in between, teeing up Dembele to score his first Barcelona goal.
“He knows in certain moments stars have to come out. He forces himself to do that,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said.
“There’s no guarantee that he’s going to score, but he is a fantastic player. We enjoy him. We’re lucky enough to be seeing something that will go down in history.”
Dembele’s goal was his first in 12 appearances since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in a deal that could potentially reach 150 million euros ($185 million).
The France forward also helped in defense, hustling back and making a clean tackle on Marcos Alonso as the Chelsea player prepared to take a shot from close range early in the second half.
“He worked a lot in attack and made a crucial defensively play,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. “He took a step forward.”
Dembele was touted as a substitute for Neymar after the Brazilian left to sign with Paris Saint-Germain, but he hadn’t produced much until now, in part because of a series of injuries. His good display Wednesday came nearly six months after he ruptured a thigh tendon and had to be sidelined for more than three months.
Off the field, however, Barcelona may face questions from UEFA about the treatment of spectators before the game outside the stadium.
Chelsea have invited any fans who experienced problems to contact the club.
A Chelsea spokesman said: “We are aware of reports of incidents outside the ground before the game where a number of Chelsea fans were hurt.
“We ask that our supporters contact us with accounts of their experiences of this evening’s arrival at the stadium so that we can take this up properly with the authorities.”
‘Magic’ Lionel Messi will never leave Barcelona: Antonio Conte
‘Magic’ Lionel Messi will never leave Barcelona: Antonio Conte
Al-Ittihad slump to fourth defeat of season in home loss to Al-Ettifaq
- Visitors’ Khalid Al-Ghannam scores only goal of the game as the reigning Saudi Pro League champs drop more points after drawing with Damac on Tuesday
- Earlier, Al-Fateh’s five-game winning streak ends with 1-1 draw against Al-Najma, and Al-Khaleej enjoy comfortable 4-1 victory over Al-Okhdood
RIYADH: Al-Ittihad’s disappointing defense of their Saudi Pro League title continued on Friday with a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Al-Ettifaq.
Khalid Al-Ghannam scored the decisive goal for the visitors as the hosts dropped more points after their draw with Damac on Tuesday.
In the absence of Fabinho, who was suspended after being sent off late in Tuesday’s match, Mahamadou Doumbia partnered with N’golo Kante in midfield for Al-Ittihad. The Malian showed his composure early on when he shielded the ball under pressure before unleashing a long-range shot in the 10th minute, but it was comfortably saved by Marek Rodak.
The deployment of Al-Ghannam proved pivotal, as he repeatedly tested the hosts. In the 23rd minute he burst down the left flank, beating three defenders with some clever dribbling before testing Predrag Rajkovic in goal, who parried the effort.
Al-Ghannam bothered the defense again just minutes later, threatening the Serbian goalkeeper with another attempt from a similar position. However, the game remained goalless at halftime.
The second half began with Al-Ittihad on the front foot. Within minutes, Roger Fernandes found himself in front of goal and put the ball in the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Al-Ghannam’s effort and influence eventually paid off for the visitors in the 54th minute. Operating as a left-sided striker during an Al-Ettifaq counterattack, he cut inside to curl a powerful shot into the far corner.
Al-Ittihad’s attacking approach varied as they fought to get back into the game, with Fernandes patrolling the left flank, Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti cutting inside near the byline, and central contributions from the combination of Doumbia and Steven Bergwijn. But the Al-Ettifaq defense remained resolute.
Danilo Pereira, pushing up into an advanced midfield position as Al-Ittihad forced Al-Ettifaq to defend deep, unleashed a long shot in the 67th minute, urged on by the home fans, but his effort went wide.
With time running out, Sergio Conceicao made four substitutions in the space of seven minutes, bringing on Ahmed Al-Julaydan at right-back for his crossing abilities, Abdulaziz Al-Bishi and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi to play between the lines, and Saleh Al-Shehri for added impetus up front.
Despite several chances, Al-Ittihad were unable to grab the equalizer, and in the 85th minute things got even worse for them. Keeper Rajkovic tripped on his way to confront a Mohau Nkota counterattack and stuck out his hand at the edge of the box to push the ball away. A review by the video assistant referee ruled he had handled the ball outside the box and he was shown the red card.
After seven minutes of added time, and one final attempt by Doumbia to salvage something for the hosts through a free-kick, the referee blew the final whistle.
It was the fourth defeat of the season for Al-Ittihad and means they remain in sixth place in the table, three behind Al-Qadsiah who have a game in hand. Al-Ettifaq are seventh, just two points behind the defending champions.
Earlier, Al-Fateh’s five-game winning streak came to an end when they returned from a trip to Qassim to face Al-Najma with only a point. The visitors took the lead in the 12th minute but a goal for the home side by Ali Jasim in the 75th denied them all three points as the game ended 1-1.
In the Eastern Province, Greek duo Giorgos Masouras and Kostas Fortounis proved the main inspirations for Al-Khaleej in a 4-1 victory over Al-Okhdood that temporarily lifted them into seventh place in the table, until Al-Ettifaq reclaimed the spot.
On Saturday, Al-Fayha face Damac, Al-Kholood take on fourth-place Al-Ahli, and second-place Al-Nassr are in action against Al-Shabab.
