No Messi, No Problem as Barcelona Defeat Juventus

Date: 09 August 2021 - 21:48

News ID: ۹۳۱۹۷

BARCELONA (Dispatches) - Barcelona started life without Lionel Messi on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Juventus in the pre-season Gamper Trophy.
Messi had earlier Sunday said his farewells to the club he had served for 20 years at a tearful news conference.
Memphis Depay opened the scoring for Barcelona after just three minutes with Martin Braithwaite adding a second goal just before the hour mark from a corner.
Young hope Riqui Puig scored a third in stoppage time with a fine left foot drive.
In Sunday’s other high-profile friendly, Real Madrid and AC Milan fought to a 0-0 stalemate.
Spain’s La Liga season gets underway on Friday while the Italian Serie A starts on August 22.

Messi’s Arrival at PSG Would Give Coach Tactical Headache

If Lionel Messi does become the latest star to help Paris Saint-Germain’s quest to win the elusive Champions League, coach Mauricio Pochettino must work out the best way to accommodate him in a top-heavy attack.
Messi bid a tearful farewell to Barcelona on Sunday. At the same time, PSG was in talks with his team trying to finalize a deal to sign him amid reports Messi had flown to Paris on Sunday for a meeting.
Talk of Messi’s imminent arrival led several hundred PSG fans to wait outside Le Bourget airport, to the north of Paris, which is often used by PSG and the national team.
Messi would become the biggest star to arrive at Parc des Princes since cash-rich Qatari owners QSI took over the club 10 years ago.
Messi’s arrival would surpass even the fanfare of Neymar’s world-record signing for 222 million euros ($261 million) from Barcelona in 2017, or Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brazenly self-promoting presentation by the Eiffel Tower in 2012.