He hit it right in the top corner. Not that easy to save it, even if it came at his side.

00:18 GK moves to the left, has a decent jump and stretches his left hand, just can't get to it due to the perfect precision.

#Messi'd.

Biggus wrote:

Anyone see Chile's arse err kicking of Mexico?
Alexis was brilliant.

Yep, previous page.

Chile and Argentina the stand out teams of the tournament. But we knew that last year anyway

Rex wrote:

Great free kick and all, but I really think the goalkeeper should save that.
My view on this is pretty much that the goalkeeper needs to trust his wall all the time. Don't ever do the baby steps towards the wall gamble! If a player curls the ball perfectly over the wall and the goalkeeper can't get there then, fair enough, hold your hands up and congratulate the free kick taker for a perfectly executed piece of skill. However, this shot is at most a meter to the left of the goalkeeper, in his corner, and far from a rocket. Any goalkeeper worth his salt needs to save that IMO. I'd certainly have it down as a Cech error if he conceded that.

After watching the replay, I wouldn't put it down as an error. Sure, a top keeper would be expected to save that but the combination of accuracy, surprise and power made it extremely hard.

Too often I don't think outfield players help their goalkeeper enough. It looks to me as if the goalkeeper doesn't see the ball until quite late. Blocking the view of the goalkeeper is of course sound tactics from the attacking team, but I can't for the life of me understand why the defending team let it happen as often as they do. On a corner of a cross defenders get away with murder almost all the time to get an advantage through blocking, holding, pulling and the like. Either goalkeepers don't communicate well enough that their vision is blocked, or outfield players aren't doing their jobs. Clearing opponents out of the way when the ball isn't even in play is no way all that hard, and I bet a majority of refs will totally let it go.

Now, if the goalkeeper sees the ball all the way and still can't make a save less than a meter to the side of him - yeah, that's a goalkeeping error for me. I don't care really that the ball is in the top corner in this instance either, because it wasn't a rocket shot. There is just no way, for me, that you should be able to beat the goalkeeper from that distance with a shot which is that close to him.

Rex wrote:

Now, if the goalkeeper sees the ball all the way and still can't make a save less than a meter to the side of him - yeah, that's a goalkeeping error for me. I don't care really that the ball is in the top corner in this instance either, because it wasn't a rocket shot. There is just no way, for me, that you should be able to beat the goalkeeper from that distance with a shot which is that close to him.

I'm not entirely sure I buy that, it's a good hit and literally skims the underside of the bar. Even for a 6 ft 4 keeper, it's not easy to save them. That's literally the only area that a goalkeeper would struggle to save a free kick like that one and Messi hit it. That's why it's a brilliant free kick.

Bear in mind for a left footed player to go for that corner is also pretty rare, hence the positioning of the keeper.

Mirth wrote:

Rex wrote:

Great free kick and all, but I really think the goalkeeper should save that.
My view on this is pretty much that the goalkeeper needs to trust his wall all the time. Don't ever do the baby steps towards the wall gamble! If a player curls the ball perfectly over the wall and the goalkeeper can't get there then, fair enough, hold your hands up and congratulate the free kick taker for a perfectly executed piece of skill. However, this shot is at most a meter to the left of the goalkeeper, in his corner, and far from a rocket. Any goalkeeper worth his salt needs to save that IMO. I'd certainly have it down as a Cech error if he conceded that.

After watching the replay, I wouldn't put it down as an error.

oh my god.

Beckham used to hit them like that quite often iirc. Also, I don't want to take anything away from Messi here; it is no doubt an amazingly well hit free kick. I agree that it is the most difficult spot for a goalkeeper to reach, but the goalkeeper doesn't start from the middle of the goal here, and the shot is hit from a significant distance.

Savz wrote:

Mirth wrote:

After watching the replay, I wouldn't put it down as an error.

oh my god.

Yes?

In my opinion that is a perfect freekick. If you insist on shooting to the GK's side, there's only one place you can hit where he doesn't save it, and Messi hit it.

Mirth wrote:

Savz wrote:

oh my god.

Yes?

Of course it's not an error. Goes without saying. The replay from behind the goal shows the GK does everything he's supposed to do.

Stood in the correct position, jumps at the right moment, jumps at full stretch with the correct hand leading, but just can't get to it. It's what makes the freekick as great as it is.

It's an unbelievable freekick. Absolutely audacious from Lionel.

Definitely stoppable, but it's Tim Howard (I think?), who's very old and very shit these days. Apart from that he does take a badly timed hop to his right and then can't get back.

It's a great hit from Messi, brilliant, but the ball isn't starting outside the post and curling toward the top corner, as it would be if it were a right footer from there, it's starting out to the keeper's right hand side and then curling across him toward the corner.

There's a reason you almost never see a freekick like that scored at the top level and it's not because players can't do what Messi did there - it's because a top keeper would expect to save it.

It's Brad Guzan. Who's not old but has played for Aston Villa.

Spoiling what's beautiful, looking for impurities.

Ricky1985 wrote:

There's a reason you almost never see a freekick like that scored at the top level and it's not because players can't do what Messi did there - it's because a top keeper would expect to save it.

I don't think so, Messi has scored free kicks like that against some of the best keepers in the game, think it was Courtois who he scored on at least twice like this, also Rico in the last SuperCup final I think where he converted two FKs in ten minutes. It's exactly because it's so difficult to pull off that you don't see them attempted more often and regardless, and what's more every goalie has to move towards the middle when his opponent regularly pulls off FKs like this:

You're fucked if you move and fucked if you don't basically.

Mirth wrote:

It's Brad Guzan. Who's not old but has played for Aston Villa.

That's a bit baldist of me. Still, he's just as crap as Tim Howard.

To be fair, Casillas' wall is an absolute joke in the video you've posted there. Messi didn't even have to curve it around it because it wasn't positioned far enough to block off that corner of the goal. It's also much more central than the one from last night.

I agree with Rex personally. As the keeper you set your all up as best you can, make sure you protect your side by not panicking/gambling and moving to the side the wall's protecting and if someone's good enough to whip it up and over the wall before you can react and get over then you shake their hand at the end of the match and say well done.

I don't think Cech concedes there personally. And I'm not saying that because he's necessarily the best goalkeeper out there, but because he's very tall and gets everything right in terms of his wall and his positioning.

Cech has conceded way cheaper goals recently, one of them just yesterday in Turkey's second goal.

I don't think many, if any, keepers save that free kick. It was literally as perfectly placed as possible, there was good whip on it - nothing Guzan could've done about it

Not freekicks he hasn't and that's the point I'm making.

I can't think of any free kicks that were even remotely as good that Cech saved though. Moot point if Cech's saves are against Craig Gardner and Seb Larsson instead of Messi, don't you think?

It's exactly because it is hit to Guzan's strong side and he covered that area well that the freekick is amazing. It's easy to replay it slow mo 10 times and think the keeper can save that but in real time you see it hit and go oh my word, how did he place that?

It's no difference even if you put someone as tall as Courtois or Forster in goal. That kind of placement and trajectory makes it very difficult for any keeper to get to it with the element of surprise. Guzan himself is a very good shot stopper and Messi made it looked easy.

Sometimes it feels as if Cech is a superman here and expected to save everything good. He himself concedes many long range efforts that are extremely soft. Just yesterday Turkey's 2nd goal is pretty similar to the one Ospina conceded against Guediora where some blamed him and say Cech saves that easily. It's not as simple as that when the shot is hit with power and accuracy and your defenders don't protect your goal.

USA team is so far off the mark these days. Need a new coach and to commit fully to a rebuild ahead of the next World Cup.

Don't see a future for Bradley, Jones, Beckerman, Zusi, etc. in the team. Why Pulisic isn't getting minutes ahead of Wondo is ridiculous too.

You know what? I think most teams, and goalkeepers, would be much better off not having a wall at all when a free kick is taken from that sort of distance. And I'm saying it right now - any keeper who concedes a shot from that far out with a clear vision of the ball is at fault in my book, with very few exceptions. Exceptions being shots like Roberto Carlos v France, and real rocket knuckle balls a la Ronaldo, Zlatan and the like. Messi's is a beautifully taken free kick, but certainly doesn't fall in that category for me.

Agree that it was stoppable but only if everything was in place for the goalkeeper including luck. Bloody brilliant fk, so much pace and height and placement right in the front corner. Having trouble deciding which is better, the more angled one against courtois or this one.

you guys are lost in the fucking woods here

1. it was a difficult save even for a world class keeper
2. guzan may have hesitated, but its not like he fell on his face and the ball went right over him
3. messi is god

Rex wrote:

You know what? I think most teams, and goalkeepers, would be much better off not having a wall at all when a free kick is taken from that sort of distance. And I'm saying it right now - any keeper who concedes a shot from that far out with a clear vision of the ball is at fault in my book, with very few exceptions. Exceptions being shots like Roberto Carlos v France, and real rocket knuckle balls a la Ronaldo, Zlatan and the like. Messi's is a beautifully taken free kick, but certainly doesn't fall in that category for me.

Have you seen Ronaldo's free kicks? The wall seems to come in handy, he hits it all the time. 

mdgoonah41 wrote:

you guys are lost in the fucking woods here

1. it was a difficult save even for a world class keeper
2. guzan may have hesitated, but its not like he fell on his face and the ball went right over him
3. messi is god

Forget 1, 2 and 3.
Most free kicks i've seen from that spot end up in the upper tiers of the stands affectionally known as rows x, y and z.
I wouldn't blame the keeper as Messi aims and misses by inches and the target could easily have been the opposite top corner. 

Dunno what the debate's about, it was a magical free kick.

Alexis and Chile is at it again. 2 assists and 2-0 within 10 minutes.

Does Sanchez look really bulky to anyone else?

He isn't, but he is lean and muscular. Gives that impression when you have low body fat combined with defined muscles.

there is not one keeper that would have made that save against messi.

Bet there are. Plenty of them in fact.

Really like watching Chile play - more so than watching AFC.

Coombs wrote:

Dunno what the debate's about, it was a magical free kick.

Yup. Unstoppable.

Messi isn't normal

Anzac wrote:

Really like watching Chile play - more so than watching AFC.

Yeah they've been great to watch. A physically beast team across the board that plays a tempo that serve their approach rather than slowing it down to how other teams wish to play.

Mexico was completely blown away by them....that was a devastating performance, and Chile will certainly have it in them to beat Argentina.

Excited for the finals, got an asado planned out.

Another absolutely outstanding save by Ospina. Probably save of the tournament.

Another angle:

World class shot stopper.

Can't believe we have him and Cech. Luxury.