The Spanish side were ahead inside the opening 20 minutes though as Messi pounced on a loose ball before finding Neymar, leaving the Brazilian to fire home from close range
Browsing: Lionel Messi
That result was vital ahead of their trip to Camp Nou, but coach Carlo Ancelotti will be aware of the importance of this fixture, with defeat resulting in a four-point deficit and perhaps moving him closer to the exit door in the summer
The hosts quickly assumed control of the match and were agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock on the night after just six minutes when Dani Alves picked the pocket of Vincent Kompany on the edge of the area before sliding the ball through to compatriot Neymar
Of his 99 caps so far, the three-time FIFA World Cup star picks the Nigeria/Argentina FIFA World Cup match at the Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg on June 12, 2010 as his best so far
City must now score at least twice when the two sides meet for the second leg at the Camp Nou next month
Ronaldo was favourite even before the ceremony
The Argentine, who holds the La Liga and Champions League scoring records, produced a now familiar devastating performance on Sunday to take his record to 402 goals for Barca in all competitions, including 28 in friendlies
Ronaldo, 29, is the favourite for the award after helping Real Madrid win the Champions League last season, scoring 17 times to set a new record for most goals scored in the competition in one campaign
Messi struck first in the 38th minute against APOEL in Group F to give Barcelona a 2-0 lead after Luis Suarez had opened the scoring.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale headline the 40-man shortlist, with the results being announced at the beginning of next year.
A record 6.3 million votes were cast in last year’s edition, where Real Madrid’s Ronaldo enjoyed a seventh successive appearance inside Europe’s elite
Messi notched his 70th and 71st goals in his 90th match in Europe’s top club competition. Former Real Madrid and Schalke striker Raul took 142 matches to reach his tally
The eventual winner will be revealed at the FIFA Ballon d’Or slated to hold in Zurich Kongresshaus on January 12, 2015, during which the FIFA FIFPro World XI, the FIFA Puskás Award – for the most beautiful goal of the year – the FIFA Presidential Award and the FIFA Fair Play Award will also be presented.
The list of 23 male candidates has been drawn up by football experts from the FIFA Football Committee and by a group of experts from France Football.
All eyes were on Luis Suarez and how the former Liverpool striker would fare on his competitive debut for the Catalan giants
The Ligue 1 champions were without talismanic striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as well as Thiago Silva and Ezequiel Lavezzi, but held off late Barca pressure to end the visitors’ unbeaten start to the campaign and dampen an historic occasion for midfielder Xavi
‘No doubt, Nigeria is blessed with lots of talented players in all departments of the game and I strongly believe that some of these competitions for shirts make me a better player’
The four-times world player of the year had a quiet game by his standards against Germany but scored four of his team’s six goals in the group stage
Germany controlled possession and look to create chances with fluid movement and quick interchanges, though Argentina’s pace on the break was a constant threat
It’s a compliment, because when he focuses, I admire the gift he has so much
One of them is German’s Klose who becomes the highest all-time scorer with his 16th goal against Brazil in Tuesday’s semi-final
But the showpiece event is a stage for both sides to renew their rivalry on the world’s biggest stage, with FC Barcelona’s striker, Lionel Messi, the cynosure of all eyes