Barcelona never fail to amaze their loyal fans and football lovers from around the world. There have been so many occasions over the years when they have shocked the footballing world and proven that they are the best.
More recently, in particular, the moments of magic they have produced have been simply unbelievable. Their desire to fight till the very end, along with their creativity means they are always an absolute joy to watch.
Also Read: 5 reasons why Barcelona are one of the most unbeatable of teams on their day
These five moments prove they are the greatest team in the world.
#5 Manchester United 1-3 Barcelona, Champions League Final, 2010-11
Manchester United managed by one of the greatest coaches ever, Sir Alex Ferguson, were not an easy opponent in the Champions League final in 2011. However, Barcelona made their 3-1 victory look effortless.
Chance after chance came for Barcelona as they split the Red Devils defence in half on several occasions. Finally, they got their breakthrough as Pedro slotted past Edwin van der Sar.
Despite United equalising through Wayne Rooney, the result still looked like it was going to go in the favour of the Catalan club.
Beautiful finishes from both Messi and David Villa capped off a masterclass over the English side. The way they moved the ball, and the manner in which Messi dribbled with the ball made them almost unstoppable. They had such control of the ball regardless of who they played, and nobody could deal with the constant pressure they applied.
Guardiola’s Barcelona proved to the world that they were the greatest team in the world on that day.
#4 Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona, La Liga, 2005-06
Ronaldinho and his Barcelona team-mates humiliated the Galacticos of Real Madrid in their home stadium as even Real fans applauded Ronaldinho when he scored his second and Barcelona’s third of the game.
Samuel Eto’o opened the scoring in what was a dominant onslaught from Barcelona away from home at the Bernabeu. Madrid were left chasing shadows as magnificent performances from a young Messi, Ronaldinho and Eto’o created chance after chance, leaving Real embarrassed.
Ronaldinho’s second and third goals saw him skip past players with ease as he earned himself an ovation from the Madrid fans. He said in his post-match interview: “It was a perfect game,” before going on to say, “I will never forget this because it is rare for any footballer to be applauded in this way by the opposition fans.”
Real were not short of quality, with Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Sergio Ramos, Robinho, and Raul playing. This just perfectly illustrates how magnificent Barca and their attacking players were on that day, once again proving that they were the best.
#3 Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona, Champions League semi-final, 2008-09
The semi-final of 2009 provided a much more resilient performance from Barcelona as they seemingly clung on to the hope of lifting the Champions League once again.
This game was very different to the Champions League final of 2011, with Chelsea applying most of the pressure. They had numerous appeals for handballs and penalties, but as the saying goes, you make your own luck.
1-0 down in the 93rd minute of the game, they did, once again, what they do so brilliantly. The ball rolled to Iniesta on the edge of the box and he placed it perfectly in the top right corner.
This goal once again demonstrated Barcelona’s ability to score such late and important goals, this time in an important semi-final which led to them winning the Champions League in Rome once again that year against Manchester United.
This performance once again showed why Barcelona are the greatest. With them struggling, they still came out on top.
#2 Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid, La Liga, 2010-11
With Jose Mourinho in charge of Real Madrid, many thought his resilient side could travel to the Nou Camp and come away with a result. They couldn’t have been more wrong.
Barcelona handed Real Madrid their first defeat of that season with a 5-0 victory. Messi did not get himself on the scoresheet but contributed with his magical feet and incredible intricate passing.
They completely controlled the game similarly to their 3-0 victory in 2005 and had a 4-0 lead before 60 minutes.
The Real Madrid side included Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso, Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema and even Cristiano Ronaldo, but they were left speechless after the performance from Barca.
Guardiola’s Barcelona once again showed their tremendous qualities of passing the ball and leaving the opposition with so much ground to cover, something even a defensive Mourinho side could not handle.
They scored five incredible goals through Villa twice, Xavi, Pedro and Jeffren, yet they could have had more. Messi had an effort strike the post, as well as numerous other near misses.
#1 Barcelona 6-1 PSG, Champions League, Round of 16 – 2016/17
This game had one of the most extraordinary moments the football world has ever seen, proving Barcelona’s status as the greatest.
Having to overcome a four-goal deficit against the French champions in the second leg of this year’s Champions League last 16 seemed almost impossible.
To add to that, Cavani’s goal seemed to end Barcelona’s hopes, with them needing three goals with just 28 minutes to play. It stayed that way until Neymar struck a magnificent free-kick which flew into the top left corner in the 88th minute.
Then, a dubious penalty was awarded and scored which allowed Barcelona to create their own history in the dying seconds which they do so often.
In the fifth minute of added time, with their last chance of the game, Neymar produced a magnificent cross into the box. As the ball left his foot, the football world stood still. Sergi Roberto converted the cross and the Nou Camp and everyone watching erupted, sealing the greatest comeback in history.
Scoring three goals from the 88th minute was something only Barcelona could do.
