Bow to your King! Genius Messi single-handedly drags Barcelona back from the dead

The Argentine proved his genius - and resilience - by leading the Blaugrana to a sensational victory in Madrid that has blown the title race wide open

Marcello Lippi was asked earlier this week if Lionel Messi was in decline. "Every time I see Barcelona's results," the legendary Italian coach responded, "I see goals and assists from Messi.

"I don't think he has declined; it's the rest of Barcelona that has declined. The drop-off is more in terms of the defence and that affects the whole team."

Sunday's Clasico showdown at the Santiago Bernabeu proved Lippi right on both counts: Messi was as brilliant as Barca's defence was brittle.

Yet the Catalans, thanks to their talismanic No.10, managed to prevail over their great rivals Real Madrid, thus breathing new life into a Liga title race that had appeared dead by claiming a dramatic, last-gasp 3-2 victory in one of the greatest games this famous fixture has ever seen.

Indeed, many Madrid fans had come to the ground expecting to bury Barcelona. Avoiding defeat would all but seal the title and deal a fatal blow to a Blaugrana side seemingly on the way out after their comprehensive Champions League elimination at the hands of Juventus. Remarkably, even Messi was being written off beforehand.

The Argentine had come into the game without a goal in his previous six matches against Real Madrid. This unprecedented drought was viewed by some as evidence that Messi was no longer the phenomenon of old - in spite of the fact that no player has scored more goals in all competitions across Europe's top five leagues (now 47 in just 46 games).

When it comes to appraising the talents of Messi and Ronaldo in the modern era, it seems that they are only as good as their last game, and whereas the Portuguese had fired Real into the last four of the Champions League with a hat-trick against Bayern, Messi had drawn a blank in Barca's midweek draw with Juventus.

Luis Enrique was even asked in his pre-game press conference if it was time for his No.10 to shine again. "I think it’s time for FC Barcelona to show their full potential," the Barca boss replied. "We shouldn’t focus on just Messi or anyone else."

Real did focus on Messi, though, seemingly intent on nullifying his influence by any means necessary. Casemiro was booked just 13 minutes in for cynically scything the 29-year-old down after being embarrassed by Messi's quick feet in the middle of the park.

Marcelo, meanwhile, left the Clasico's all-time record goalscorer (23) prone on the Bernabeu turf with blood pouring out of his mouth with a careless elbow to the face.

Messi would have his revenge, though, retaliating not with aggression but artistry, bravely refusing to stop running at his rivals. He made five dribbles in the first half alone; the rest of the players on the pitch managed two between them.

He was felled twice more by Casemiro before the break, twice more he picked himself up off the ground and continued to carry the fight to Real.

Thirty-three minutes in, he finally lost his Brazilian tormentor for the first time and capitalised in scintillating fashion. He took a pass from Rakitic in his stride to glide past Luka Modric before then leaving Dani Carvajal swinging at thin air as he slotted the ball coolly past Keylor Navas to level the game.

Messi was involved again as Barca took the lead with 17 minutes to go. The Argentina captain found his path to goal blocked - legally, for once - but Rakitic picked up the pieces and unleashed a thunderous strike that left the brilliant Navas with no chance.

When Sergio Ramos was rightly shown a straight red card for throwing himself into a disgusting two-footed lunge at Messi just four minutes later, the game appeared to be up for Real. However, the 10 men incredibly drew level when substitute James Rodriguez turned in Marcelo's cross.

Messi wasn't done, though. With just 13 seconds of injury time to go, he timed his arrival into the area to perfection before driving home Jordi Alba's pull-back to silence the Santiago Bernabeu with his 500th goal for Barca. Bloody, battered and still sporting a black eye from a bruising encounter with Juve, he celebrated by showing them his jersey as a reminder that he remains the King of the Clasico.

They thought his reign was over. They were wrong. Barca may be in decline but Messi most certainly is not. As Luis Enrique pointed out afterwards, "Messi is decisive even when he is at home eating dinner! He is the best player in history."

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Liverpool sick of the sight of Palace & Benteke as Kop flop leaves top-four hopes in disarray

Christian Benteke returned to haunt and hurt the Reds by scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory for Sam Allardyce's side at Anfield

According to Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool had done the “right things in the right moments” at Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion but in Sunday’s hosting of Crystal Palace, the manager was left to stomach the opposite. 

“You must be sick of us!” came the victorious cry from the away end, who claimed a third consecutive Premier League win at Anfield - the first team to do so since Chelsea in 2005. 

And Christian Benteke, a stylist mismatch at Liverpool, showed exactly how lethal he can be in a side geared to feed his strengths. 

The 26-year-old, who left Merseyside for Selhurst Park in the summer, struck both Palace goals to render another phenomenal Philippe Coutinho effort pointless. The Belgium international’s double took his tally as an opposition player at the ground to five goals, surpassing the four he managed here in a Red shirt.

The “adult football” that was present in Liverpool’s previous two testing fixtures deserted them in front of their own fans. When Palace started to twist, Klopp’s men folded instead of displaying the kind of fight needed to fortify their Champions League ambitions.

A glorious afternoon at Anfield didn’t end as such, despite Coutinho adding to his collection of remarkable strikes from distance.

The 24-year-old placed the ball before analysing the far corner, taking a three-step run up and curling his free-kick over the wall and into the area he had anticipated. As soon as it cleared the wall, he had turned to celebrate in the knowledge that he had calculated the set-piece superbly. 

Emre Can had an opportunity to double Liverpool’s advantage after clever work from James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum, but couldn’t master his judgement as well as the Brazilian, shanking his shot to the left. 

A few minutes later, the German’s annoyance over that miss only intensified as Benteke scored his sixth goal in eight appearances against his former employers. 

Dejan Lovren allowed Yohan Cabaye to deliver a lovely ball across the box, which the Belgian charged on to before beating his international team-mate Simon Mignolet. 

The striker headed to the bench and celebrated with Mamadou Sakho, who was ineligible to play against his parent club. For those that continually ask why the defender has no future under Jurgen Klopp, it was another reason to add to a lengthy list of his unprofessionalism. 

The second half started with Liverpool pushing head back in front and carving out several chances to do so, with Coutinho and Roberto Firmino heavily involved. 

But their inability to punish Palace when in the ascendancy saw the visitors happily take advantage when the Reds became too passive. 

Liverpool failed to deal with a corner and Benteke was once again on hand to hurt their non-defending.

Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip had been unbeaten in the 13 league games they started together previously, but the former was particularly woeful on Sunday.

In truth, there were far too many below-par performances from a team that have designs on mixing it with Europe’s elite.

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Still want to join Man City? Arsenal hero Alexis should change his mind on summer transfer

The Arsenal talisman was the match-winner in Sunday’s huge FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against the team he’s tipped to move to this summer

Arsene Wenger made a point of letting everyone know that his future wouldn’t be affected by the outcome of Arsenal’s FA Cup journey, but after a 2-1 semi-final extra time victory over Manchester City at Wembley he might be changing his mind on that one.

The Gunners rode their luck at times during an epic clash against Pep Guardiola’s men, particularly in the second half as Yaya Toure’s volley hit the post and Fernandinho clipped the crossbar in quick succession.

City’s possession-based football tormented an Arsenal side who came into this game low on confidence despite winning, unconvincingly, at Middlesbrough on Monday. The decision to field three defenders at the back seems to be working right now – with Gabriel Paulista and Rob Holding impressing once again - even if Arsenal did only have 28 per cent possession in the first half.

But, in truth, this game was all about one man. Alexis Sanchez has been heavily linked with a summer move to City over the past few weeks and Goal understands that the Etihad side would be the Chilean’s first choice destination if he were to depart the Emirates. Sanchez has drawn plaudits from Guardiola and the 28-year-old provided a typical work-horse performance which ended with him scoring the crucial winning goal in extra-time.

El Nino Maravilla was in the right place at the right time once again to score his fourth goal in three appearances at Wembley for Arsenal. It is no surprise to see such a trophy-hungry player producing the goods on the biggest stage and it’s vital that Wenger keeps him at the club if they are to challenge for the silverware that players like Alexis want to be winning every season.

With a top four finish not completely ruled out yet and an opportunity for Arsene Wenger to become the most successful FA Cup-winning manager in the competition’s history, what was first deemed a season of underachievement, embarrassment and disappointment could turn into something better than expected come May.

Wenger’s favourite competition is quite evidently the FA Cup. Three FA Cup finals in four years, and six trophies in total, is an excellent achievement and while it doesn’t cover up the team’s inability to challenge the big boys in Europe or domestically, another appearance at Wembley could be just the tonic which is needed after a season of discontent and protests.

As speculation mounts, Alexis has a tough decision on his hands. Does he stay at Arsenal? Does he run his contract down? Doe he sign a new deal? Or does he move to a new club where he may have an increased chance of success?

If anything is likely to persuade him to commit to the Gunners then it would be by winning silverware and the victory over a City team who themselves will end the campaign trophyless – and perhaps even out of the top four - goes some way to doing that.

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Arsenal 2 Manchester City 1 (aet): Sanchez winner sends Wenger's men into FA Cup final

Arsenal continued their charge towards a third FA Cup crown in four years with a dramatic comeback victory against Manchester City.

Alexis Sanchez scored a dramatic extra-time winner as Arsenal came from behind to beat Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

The Chile international struck from inside the six-yard box in the first period of extra time as the Gunners booked a final date against London rivals Chelsea.

In a controversial match, Sergio Aguero had a penalty appeal turned down and a goal disallowed by referee Craig Pawson, who also rejected Sanchez's demands for a first-half spot-kick.

City striker Aguero did score for the 12th time in as many games to put City ahead just after the hour mark, but Nacho Monreal hit back with his first goal in over two years.

Yaya Toure and Fernandinho both hit the woodwork for City as the match moved into extra time, where Sanchez's strike proved decisive.

Arsene Wenger is under intense pressure with his Arsenal contract due to expire in June, but he now has the chance to win his seventh FA Cup, which would give him the outright record, following up on his side's 2014 and 2015 triumphs.

City had won their last eight FA Cup semi-final appearances, but this defeat means that, despite huge expectations upon his arrival, Pep Guardiola is almost certain to finish a managerial campaign without a trophy for the first time in his career.Guardiola's focus must immediately switch to ensuring his side can at least salvage a top-four Premier League finish, with a crucial derby against Manchester United coming up on Thursday

Arsenal threatened first when Olivier Giroud sent a header straight at Claudio Bravo, before Petr Cech had to work harder at the other end to save David Silva's aerial effort from Aguero's cross.

Laurent Koscielny had a goal correctly ruled out for offside after he raced onto Giroud's flick-on to beat Bravo, while City suffered a major blow when Silva went off injured after a challenge from Gabriel, Raheem Sterling replacing him.

City's mood was not helped when Aguero had a penalty claim turned down by Pawson, having gone down under slight contact from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the box.

Guardiola's men then suffered more frustration, Aguero forcing Leroy Sane's curling left-wing delivery over the line at the far post, only for the officials to rule the Germany winger's delivery had crossed the line before reaching the striker – a decision that looked marginal at best.

Arsenal themselves had an appeal for a spot-kick rejected just before the break, Sanchez claiming he was tugged to the ground by Jesus Navas as he tried to latch on to Oxlade-Chamberlain's free-kick.

The Gunners, again playing with a three-man defence, had made a solid start to the second half but fell behind after 62 minutes.

Aaron Ramsey lost possession to Toure just outside the City area and it only took one long pass from the Ivorian to send Aguero racing clear of Monreal, before dinking a clever finish over Cech as the blue half of Wembley erupted.

Arsenal produced a strong response and Mesut Ozil fired wide after a neat passing move before Wenger's men found a dramatic equaliser with 19 minutes remaining.

The influential Oxlade-Chamberlain delivered a cross from the right which found the opposite wing-back Monreal racing in at the back post and he stabbed in a right-footed volley from six yards.

City almost won it when Toure unleashed a stunning 20-yard volley that was tipped onto the post by Cech.

And the woodwork denied City again in the closing stages as Fernandinho's header from eight yards crashed against the crossbar from Kevin De Bruyne's corner.

Wenger brought on Danny Welbeck for Giroud and the England striker beat Nicolas Otamendi before flashing an effort narrowly wide as the game moved into extra time.

Rob Holding was the first to squander a big chance in the additional period, sending a free header over the bar from six yards, but Arsenal did strike after the clock had ticked over to 100 minutes

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Welbeck missed Koscielny's knock-down from a corner but Sanchez pounced to take a touch and fire in from close range, the Chile international starring in an FA Cup semi-final again having netted twice against Reading in 2015.

Aguero had hobbled off for City just before that goal, with Fabian Delph coming on, meaning De Bruyne moved into a centre-forward role, but Arsenal were on top with Welbeck missing the target from a good headed chance.

Guardiola threw on Kelechi Iheanacho for the second period and City embarked on a late charge, but the Nigeria international missed the target with a header, with De Bruyne also shooting off target and Arsenal substitute Hector Bellerin brilliantly blocking a Delph effort as Wenger's men held on for a famous victory.

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Manchester United hit six-year Premier League high in Burnley win

The Red Devils stretched their unbeaten sequence in the English top-flight competition to 23 games with a 2-0 victory over the Clarets at Turf Moor
Manchester United’s 23-match unbeaten run in the Premier League represents a six-year high in English top-flight competition.

The Red Devils stretched their sequence of games without defeat with a 2-0 victory over Burnley on Sunday.

Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney got the goals at Turf Moor to keep Jose Mourinho’s side in the mix for a top-four finish.

United have not come unstuck in the league since suffering a 4-0 drubbing at Chelsea on October 23.

They have suffered just three defeats in all competitions in that time – one each in the Europa League, EFL Cup and FA Cup.

Mourinho’s men have cemented their standing in fifth place with victory over Burnley, although they are now only one point behind arch-rivals City ahead of a derby date on Thursday.

United have also hit the 50-goal mark for the season, while only Tottenham boast a better defensive record in the Premier League.

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Man Utd ready to pay €70m for PSG defender Marquinhos

Jose Mourinho's side are willing to splash out big money to land the Brazil international but face strong resistance from the Ligue 1 champions

Manchester United are ready to splash out €70 million to sign PSG centre-back Marquinhos as they look to bolster their defence ahead of the 2017-18 campaign.

Ligue 1 champions PSG are, however, reluctant to sell one of their key players and understands they will not consider a sale in the summer, even for a bid of €100m.

Jose Mourinho's side would be willing to offer €10m per year in wages to attract one of the top young defensive players in Europe as they look to build a team capable of winning the Premier League title.

Doubts remain over Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, who have both struggled with injuries since Mourinho's arrival, while Daley Blind is likely to be moved on in the summer window.

Marcos Rojo and Eric Bailly have performed impressively in recent weeks as United deal with something of a defensive injury crisis and Marquinhos's potential addition would add depth and quality at centre-back.

Goal understands that no official bid has yet been made and PSG will resist any attempt by the Red Devils to sign the Brazil international, who they signed from Roma back in 2013.

Indeed, Unai Emery's side will open contract negotiations with Marquinhos in the summer as a priority, as the club look to keep hold of one of their star names.

Nevertheless, United retain a big interest in Marquinhos, with the player's wage demands potentially a stumbling block for PSG, who are currently unwilling to meet his demands.

The 22-year-old's demands would make him one of the top earners at Parc des Princes and, despite contract negotiations having broken down last summer, he still has two years remaining on his current deal.

His father, however, maintains that a renewal with PSG is not solely to do with money. Marcos Barros told Goal: "It's not just a matter of money. It's a matter of how he can be one of the best players in the team.

"PSG needs to show him that he is one of the most important players in the team."

The defender, who has 17 caps for Brazil, remains happy in Paris, where he has won three successive Ligue 1 titles, and outline intention to stay put back in March 

Along with Adrien Rabiot and Marco Verratti, Marquinhos is seen as a key player for the club's future.

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VALVERDE LEADING THE RACE TO BE NEXT BARC BOSS

The Athletic Club coach played at Camp Nou for a brief period, has long been admired by the Catalan club and is the favourite to succeed Luis Enrique

Ernesto Valverde is leading the race to be the next Barcelona boss as the Blaugrana look ahead to to be a new era in the summer.At the beginning of March, current coach Luis Enrique announced his decision to leave at the end of the season and the Catalan club have been looking at a number of candidates for the role ever since then.

Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli was initially installed as favourite, but was ruled out by the Barca board after a dip in form and results, while it is now common knowledge that the Argentine is negotiating to take over his national team after the Albiceleste sacked Edgardo Bauza earlier this month.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman, a Barcelona legend in his time as a player at the Catalan club, was another name considered, but his unsuccessful spell at Valencia makes him something of a risk and the Blaugrana board have long admired Valverde - who has twice been shortlisted for the job in the past.

The 53-year-old spent two years at Barca as a player under Johan Cruyff and has a wealth of experience in La Liga as coach with Athletic (two spells), Espanyol, Villarreal and Valencia.

Out of contract in the summer, he has been contacted by Barca and is now unlikely to sign a new deal at San Mames for next season, although the Basque club are keen for him to stay in Bilbao.

Valverde is happy at Athletic and led the club to their first trophy in over 30 years by beating Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa in 2015. However, he is well aware that it will be extremely difficult to take the team much further due to the side's policy of only fielding Basque-born footballers and also the advanced age of key players such as Aritz Aduriz and Raul Garcia.

In the meantime, Barca have explored the continuity option of Luis Enrique's assistant Juan Carlos Unzue, who hinted in a recent interview that he will be working next season, even if Luis Enrique is not.

However, Barcelona's poor performances in recent weeks have led the board to believe that a fresh face with new ideas is needed to rejuvenate a team relying far too heavily upon its three famous forwards - Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

Another name in the frame is former Barca player Oscar Garcia, current coach of Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and a student of Cruyff (with whom he worked when the Dutchman was in charge of the Catalunya national team).

Oscar's ideas are the closest to those of the Dutch legend and that makes him a left-field choice for the Catalan club, but Valverde's greater experience in La Liga means he remains the leading candidate to replace Luis Enrique this summer.

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