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Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hails Barcelona’s Lionel Messi

By Laieke Abebe

BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 14: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and Head Coach Antonio Conte of Chelsea FC speak as they leave the pitch after the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC at Camp Nou on March 14, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 14: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and Head Coach Antonio Conte of Chelsea FC speak as they leave the pitch after the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC at Camp Nou on March 14, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images) /
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After Barcelona’s 3-0 win over Chelsea, the blues manager Antonio Conte had nothing but praise for the dominant Lionel Messi.

With the lead on the away goals tiebreaker, Barcelona came into the second leg at Camp Nou knowing a win would allow them to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals. While Chelsea came into Camp Nou with confidence knowing they had to score to have a chance, Barca silenced their confidence quickly. Lionel Messi got a brace and assisted Ousmane Dembele as Barcelona defeated Chelsea 3-0 to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.

The 4-1 aggregate win was more than enough to put them in the Champions League quarterfinal draw on Friday. Chelsea has had Barca’s number in the Champions League before. After the famous Iniesta goal at Stamford Bridge in 2009, Fernando Torres got revenge with a late goal at Camp Nou in 2012. In 2018, Chelsea seemed in control, but one mistake cost Chelsea a win and gave Barca an away goal. Barca wasn’t gonna let 2012 happen again this time.

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Messi’s first goal came just over two minutes into the match and despite Chelsea’s chances, they couldn’t score. In addition to that, the young Frenchman Dembele was able to score his first goal for the Blaugrana. It was another gem from Messi as he capitalized on a defensive error just like he did in the first leg. However, this time he passed it off to Dembele for the goal.

Overall, the night ended up being perfect for Barcelona. The three goals were all exquisite and Lionel Messi proved to be the best player on the pitch again. Everyone knows that number 10 for Barcelona has to be stopped. However, the task is easier said than done and it gets proven time and time again.

Just about everyone has praised Messi before. Now, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte had some positive remarks about number 10. There was also the nice moment when the two of them walked of the pitch together. Conte’s team has struggled recently to get into top four positioning for next years Champions League. However, the Italian manager still had a lot of praise for Barca and specifically Messi.

"“When you have the opportunity to make a great compliment to Messi, it’s right to recognize a super, super, super top player. This is a player who can score 60 goals. Not only for one season, either. I’m very pleased to have the opportunity to give him my compliment. We are talking about an extraordinary player. The best in the world.”Antonio Conte on Lionel Messi"

Next: Messi reaches another milestone

Overall, Conte realizes what most of us have already realized. Messi is a once in a lifetime talent and one of the very best to ever play the sport. The match against Chelsea was just another chapter in the story of this unbelievable magician. Hopefully, there is more in store over the next few months as the stretch run of the season approaches.

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