Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson explains how Chris Smalling CAN stop Lionel Messi at Old Trafford

Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson explains how Chris Smalling CAN stop Lionel Messi at Old Trafford
After inexplicably finishing fifth in the Ballon d’Or standings, Lionel Messi has seemingly decided to take out his anger on every defender who dares to try to stop him this season.The Argentine is dragging Barcelona towards the La Liga title and is preparing to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.3

Lionel Messi is currently in the form of his life

11 years ago, the Catalan side were knocked out of the Champions League by the Red Devils courtesy of a Paul Scholes wondergoal and fans can be sure Messi will be keen to exact his vengeance.Chris Smalling will be the man tasked with stopping the 31-year-old and, although he is confident of carrying out his task, the statistics suggest that confidence is misplaced.Simply put, Messi has been untouchable this season.The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored eight goals in six Champions League games this season and assured fans at the start of the season Barca would do everything to wrestle the European cup back from rivals Real Madrid.

LIONEL MESSI'S STATS THIS SEASON

Not bad for the world's fifth-best player...

• 40 appearances
• 43 goals
• 21 assists
• 7 goals from free kicks
• 4 hat-tricks
• Top scorer in La Liga
• Top scorer in UCL
• Most assists in La Liga

Sir Alex Ferguson tried, and failed, to stop Messi in the 2009 and 2011 Finals, but revealed the almost barbaric methods he would now employ to stop the man hailed as the best ever.“You need centre-backs who are prepared to drop right on top of Messi and not worry about what is happening behind them,” the Scot wrote in his 2013 autobiography.“He will drift away to the side. Thats fine. Hes less of a threat on the side than he is through the centre.“After the inquest I told myself: When we play Barcelona next time in a Champions League final, I would have Jones and Smalling, or Smalling and Evans, right on top of Messi. I wasnt going to let him torture us again.”3

Ferguson gets within touching distance in 2008

While this tactic may seem somewhat archaic, the 77-year-old employed Park Ji-Sung to perform a similar task on Andrea Pirlo.The Premier League side travelled to the San Siro in March 2010 knowing they would have to stop the Italian to ensure they progressed.And, according to the man himself, it was executed perfectly as the midfielder did not get a sniff and United won 7-2 on aggregate.Pirlo revealed in his autobiography: “Even Sir Alex Ferguson, the purple-nosed manager who turned Manchester United into a fearsome battleship, couldnt resist the temptation. 3

Park Ji-Sung shadows Andrea Pirlo back in 2010

“He’s a man without blemish, but he ruined that purity just for a moment when it came to me. A fleeting shabbiness came over the legend that night.“At Milan, he unleashed Park Ji-sung to shadow me. He rushed about at the speed of an electron. He’d fling himself at me, his hands all over my back, trying to intimidate me. He’d look at the ball and not know what it was for.“They’d programmed him to stop me. His devotion to the task was almost touching. Even though he was a famous player, he consented to being used as a guard dog.”

---

Andreas Christensen transfer approach from Barcelona rejected by Chelsea. The Spanish champions are keen on taking the Blues' out-of-favour Dane in January, as they seek a replacement for injured
AC Milan target swoop for out-of-favour Chelsea duo to solve

---

Reece James: What those in the know say about the Chelsea

---

Tottenham 1-1 Arsenal: Unai Emery can't wait for introduction

---

Europe's top clubs to hold talks with UEFA over Champions League shake up and they could add relegation, promotion and games on weekends. There will be discussions over implementing promotion
Leagues, clubs to meet for tricky Champions League talks

---

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez plays down links to Leicester

---

Leicester City have confirmed that Spanish midfielder Vicente Iborra has left the club to join Villarreal for an undisclosed fee, bringing an unsuccessful 18-month spell at the King Power Stadium
Leicester City transfer news - Vicente Iborra completes

---

Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata spent the weekend in Madrid as he holds transfer talks in Madrid as Sevilla opt out of deal hold an interest in AC Milan loanee Gonzalo Higuain ,
Chelsea transfer news : Morata in Madrid for his medicals

---

Caf Champions League: VAR fiasco sees Esperance handed win as Wydad Casablanca refuse to return to pitch in protest A row over the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) system saw the African Champions League final abandoned.
March 2019 - VOGUEFOOTBALLNEWS

---

Burnley striker Peter Crouch to get his own sausage named after him called 'Crouchie's Red Hot Robot' The 38-year-old joined the Clarets on deadline day from Stoke City By Joe Coleman
Peter Crouch: Burnley striker to get own sausage called

---

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho sat down for an interview with Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov in October for Univision Deportes, the details of which only emerged on Friday. It was initially reported that, in the interview, Mourinho had blasted four of his players - Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford
Manchester United: What Jose Mourinho really said about four

---

Mar 08, 2019 · Tottenham's first competitive match at their new 62,000-capacity stadium will be against either Brighton or Crystal Palace in the first week of April. The eagerly anticipated news came as the
New Tottenham stadium: The ground's first game, megastore

---

Chelsea loanee Izzy Brown says he is not far off from a return to action.The 21-year-old joined Leeds United on loan in the summer and played for development sq
Leeds United Under-23s - preview: Mateusz Bogusz, Izzy Brown

---

Blackpool vs Arsenal LIVE on talkSPORT - how to listen, stream info, kick-off time, confirmed team news All the information you need to catch the FA Cup third round tie By Marc Williams
Blackpool vs Arsenal LIVE on talkSPORT - how to listen

---

Liverpool news and transfers RECAP - Odds slashed on Insigne move, Firmino on invincibles challenge, Rabiot rumours intensify. All the latest news, transfers, opinion from Anfield
Transfer news LIVE: All the latest Premier League summer

---

Barcelona fans will still have fond memories of that semi-final clash in 2009 with Andres Iniesta's last-gasp goal sealing their place in the Champions League final against Manchester United.
INIESTA GOAL vs CHELSEA 2009 - YouTube

---