Lionel Messi free kick foiled by Real Sociedad’s ingenious tactic in the La Liga clash against Barcelona on Saturday at the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi is a nightmare when taking a free kick near the box. However, Real Sociedad may have discovered a way to thwart the Argentine genius as they employed a rather strange tactic in their match against Barcelona on Saturday night.
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Barcelona were awarded a free kick from about 25 yards out. The Barcelona captain stood up to the task. However, instead of facing a normal wall, Sociedad decided to place all their players inside the box. Three players formed a normal wall, four spread across the edge of the six-yard box, two stood either side of the goalkeeper on the goal line, and one marked the space near the penalty spot.
Lionel Messi free kick foiled by Real Sociedad’s ingenious tactic
Curious La Real setup to defend Messi free kick pic.twitter.com/whBKUilMBd
— Samuel Marsden (@samuelmarsden) March 7, 2020
That’s one way to stop Lionel Messi from scoring a free kick 👀 pic.twitter.com/SRZ2lUMayc
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 7, 2020
Messi sent the ball in sweetly as ever. However, with the goal being heavily protected, it was headed way with ease by the defence.
Fortunately for Barcelona, they were handed a penalty in the 81st minute after VAR spotted a handball inside the area. Messi took the shot from the spot. This time however, there was no new tactic to stop him as he scored the winner to take his side atop the La Liga table.
They are now 2 points clear off Real Madrid who have a game on Sunday night. However, the talking point from the match will certainly be the tactic displayed on the night. It will be interesting to see if other teams also adopt the novelty approach in the future.
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