This was a night to marvel at the majesty of Lionel Messi – more than a footballer

It is worth savouring nights like these, the final months of Lionel Messi. There is a danger in sport to often look back with fondness and forward in anticipation, but spend so long doing both that you forget to bask in the present. This is the age of Messi and his era of footballing transcendence, and soon it will be gone. Then we’ll all be sorry. Apart from the defenders.

Such is the No 10’s remarkable close control, speed and shooting ability, all defenders can do is back off. Even though retreat is a strand of surrender, it is the lesser of two evils; emasculation is the alternative. Just ask Jerome Boateng, whose attempt to tackle Messi in this competition became a viral sensation so emphatically was he humiliated.

The only surprise is that magician Messi took three attempts to perfect his trick: post, post, goal. By the time the full-time whistle had sounded and Tottenham’s admirable spirit been crushed, he had his second of the night. That’s 562 for Barcelona, for those keeping count. Forget mes que un club. When Messi is in this mood, Barcelona barely need to be mes que un futbolista.

Transition period

Barcelona are not a club in rude health. Ernesto Valverde is under increasing pressure to achieve Champions League glory before Messi’s star wanes, aided by Real Madrid’s own transition period post-Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo. Prior to Wednesday, Barcelona had gone three games without a win for the first time since December 2016. They had not reached four since March 2009.

Their defensive output has been shambolic according to usual expectation, with Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique frequently looking at odds with each other, themselves and the notion of defending itself. There are currently nine La Liga defences less porous than Valverde’s. Watching the second half at Wembley, we saw why.

The suspicion within the Camp Nou’s corridors of power is that Valverde is an inadequate coach for a super club, a card-carrying member of football’s middle management. It is also not insignificant that he is the third oldest manager in La Liga. Valverde is not the Bright Young Thing to steer the club to its long-term future.

‘Give it to Leo’

There is a wonderful anecdote from Alan Ball’s time at Southampton in 1994. Appointed in January with the team in deep relegation strife, one of Ball’s first acts was to sit down the players and tell them that he has a secret plan to keep them up: give the ball to Matthew Le Tissier. It was both utterly obvious and also ingenious. Southampton won four of their next five games and eventually survived the drop by a point.

At times like these, the Barcelona strategy is similar to Ball’s: service Messi. As the defence creaked under second-half Tottenham pressure, demonstrating exactly the same flaws that makes Barcelona so vulnerable in La Liga, Messi saw more of the ball. He dropped deeper to pick up possession and ran further with the ball. When the pass comes, it is almost always played with the perfect weight.

Tottenham were not outclassed over the course of regular play at Wembley; they were outclassed in the moments. Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s remarkable first half save, in stark contrast to Hugo Lloris’ mad dash for Barcelona’s opener. Messi’s protection of the ball, compared favourably to Tottenham’s propensity to cede possession on a sandy, messy Wembley turf. And Ivan Rakitic’s superlative finish – with both feet off the floor.

Tottenham injury crisis

We must also remember that this is a Tottenham squad stretched to its limits before autumn has set in. No Premier League club has more injuries. The most notable absentees on Wednesday evening – Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Serge Aurier – shared 144 league starts last season, 38 per cent of all outfield starts.

These absences are no coincidence, and reflect badly on Tottenham. Three of those five absent on Wednesday appeared in the final week of the World Cups, as did the recently recovered Hugo Lloris. No team in Europe had more representatives in the World Cup semi-finals than Tottenham’s nine. Worse still, five of those nine were amongst the club’s six most regular appearance makers.

So of course Tottenham should not be competing with Barcelona. They exist on two different strata, traditionally and financially. This decade, five Premier League clubs rank in the top 10 net spends in world football, ranging from £255m to £919m. They are joined by Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona. Over the same time period, Tottenham’s stands at approximately £15m.

It is only Pochettino’s tactical nous, development of young players and ability to improve performance without reliance on the transfer market that has made this possible. It’s worth regularly taking a step back to appreciate that wider world view.

But while you’re there, take a look at Messi too. If we ever see his like again, it will not be until another generation of mortals have passed through.