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#3 Stade Rennes
Moving from one club to another, from one league to another is not easy for any player even if you are Lionel Messi. Leaving Barcelona took an emotional toll on the Argentine and though Paris showered lots of love on him, he required time to settle.
Messi had fitness issues that he had to shrug off to get into his own and though he scored his first goal for PSG in the Champions League in September, the Ligue 1 drought continued. Goals continued in the UCL but the wait continued in the French top-flight.
But PSG were still sitting at the top of the Ligue 1 table. However, they missed Lionel Messi dearly and needed him to step up against Stade Rennes. The team that handed the French giants their only loss of the campaign so far did so in the presence of the Argentine.
Despite starting all four of Neymar, Di Maria, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi, PSG failed to score a single goal in reply to the two scored by Stade Rennes.
#2 Atletico Madrid
Lionel Messi could not sign off from Spain with a La Liga title. There were multiple reasons for that, including the turmoil the club was in and Ronald Koeman's inept tactics being regularly highlighted. But the biggest issue was Atletico Madrid and the fine run of form they continued throughout the season.
The best thing about Los Rojiblancos was that when they couldn't win a game, they made sure their closest competitors did not gain any mileage. One of the last games Lionel Messi played in La Liga was against Atletico Madrid. It was a stalemate as both teams were eventually happy to share points with a 0-0 scoreline.
The affair picked up the heat particularly in the second half as a total of six players were shown yellow. Lionel Messi came closest to breaking the deadlock for Barcelona, but saw his strike saved brilliantly by Jan Oblak.
Atletico Madrid eventually went on to win the La Liga title as Luis Suarez's despair of leaving Barcelona turned into sheer delight.
#1 Real Madrid
In 2021, Barcelona lost only three La Liga games in the 2020-21 campaign. Back in April, nobody, not even Lionel Messi, would have guessed that this would be his last El Clasico but as things turned out, it was. It was also the first La Liga loss the Catalans suffered in 2021, at the hands of their biggest rivals.
Real Madrid put the game past Barcelona before the clock even hit the 30-minute mark with goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos. An Oscar Mingueza goal only worked as a consolation in Lionel Messi's last El Clasico as the scoreline read 2-1 in favor of Los Blancos.
The Argentine himself had rattled the woodwork from an inswinging corner in the first half in search of a stunning personal moment. He had another opportunity to work Thibaut Courtois from a free-kick but only managed to hit the wall.
Lionel Messi will get his opportunity to inflict some damage on the Spanish giants when he meets them in February with his new PSG team. Brace yourselves for a fiery game of football.
