‘Greatest tackler of all time’: Lionel Messi praised as fan shares video of Barcelona star’s impressive defensive work during European win over Lyon
- Lionel Messi was praised for his defensive work in Barcelona’s win against Lyon
- The Argentine was everywhere as he chased defenders and won the ball back
- Fans flocked to social media to heap praise on Messi for his defensive efforts
- He also scored two as Barca progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals
It was a sight many fans were not accustomed to seeing but Lionel Messi won widespread praise for his defensive work in Barcelona’s victory over Lyon on Wednesday night.
The La Liga giants beat their French opponents 5-1 to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League thanks to a brace from Messi and goals from Philippe Coutinho, Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele.
It was not just his goal scoring exploits that impressed fans though as the Argentine star also worked extremely hard off the ball to help his team to victory at the Nou Camp.
Lionel Messi won widespread praise for his defensive work in Barcelona’s victory over Lyon
The Argentine (R) worked tirelessly off the ball to help his team to victory at the Nou Camp
He continued to chase down defenders and win the ball back to regain possession all evening
He barely allowed the full-backs time to breath as he hurried them into releasing the ball
In a montage pieced together by one Twitter user, Messi can be seen chasing down defenders and sprinting in front of them on several occasions to win the ball back.
The first clip shows him darting out to the right wing to prevent an attack before the ball ricochets off him and nearly into the path of Luis Suarez.
He then chases down a defender and intercepts the ball to regain possession for the hosts before laying off a simple pass to a colleague.
The 31-year-old continued to chase down lost causes for his team all evening as he went on to score over 35 goals in all competitions for the 11th season in a row in another sensational solo display.
Messi’s defensive antics did not go unnoticed on social media either with fans flocking to Twitter to heap praise on him.
@daniell_o_d wrote: ‘Messi is actually defending’, alongside a shocked emoji.
@dro__ne added: ‘Ahh! Messi defending at right back. Man is so cold’.
‘Messi 2 goals, 1 assists, 6 chances created, 5 dribbles, 5, yes FIVE tackles and a clutch win. Greatest ever’, added @BreatheMessi_.
@Puppet_Master_2 simply wrote alongside four emojis with hearts: ‘Messi’s tackles’.
