Watch: a touch of Messi genius!
February 15, 2016
There was no stopping the juggernaut of Barcelona on Sunday night as they demolished Celta Vigo in La Liga. A brilliant exhibition of attacking football at the Camp Nou will go down in folklore after Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez combined for the most exhilarating of finishes.
Messi's penalty appeared to be a tribute to one of the most influential figures in modern football, Johan Cruyff. The 68-year-old Dutchman took to Twitter this week to announce he was winning his battle against lung cancer. The three-time Ballon D'Or winner said it felt like "being 2-0 up at half-time" in his recovery.
Cryuff, who executed the "pass penalty" with the help of Ajax teammate Jesper Olsen, wasn't the first to pull it off - it orginated from across the border in Belgium - but the trick has long been associated with the Dutch legend.
Since that effort in 1982, very few have successfully managed to execute it. One of the most recent attempts was more on the comical side between Robert Pires and Thierry Henry who shared a joke about it post-match.
And there was even time on Sunday night for Brazilian star Neymar to throw in an audacious "rainblow flick" to rub salt into Celtia's wounds.