“Sure, Messi’s good, but could he do it on a wet Wednesday night in Stoke?”
It’s a sentence which everyone’s dad has uttered at some point, even if it’s often in jest.
Obviously the answer is “yes, because he’s Lionel Messi,” but the debate will rage on.
Barcelona’s stirring comeback against Paris Saint-Germain should have been the end of it. The only thing that could change it would be an actual Stoke City player helping defeat Barcelona in their very next game.
Step forward actual Stoke City player, Joselu.
Joselu scores his 1st goal in 11 apps in all comps, his previous La Liga goals (scored twice) came v @realmadrid on Dec 10 pic.twitter.com/iiE2ivC2NR
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) March 12, 2017
The former Spain under-21 striker, on loan at Deportivo de La Coruña, rifled home from close range to give Depor a half-time lead against Luis Enrique’s team.
That’s a Depor team who also had Carles Gil – on loan from Aston Villa – in their starting line-up.
Luis Suárez equalised after the break, but Álex Bergantiños gave the home side all three points to lift them to 15th.
Barcelona remain top after the result, but Real Madrid can overtake them with three points against Real Betis in the first of their two games in hand.
For the record, we still think Messi could do it on a wet Wednesday night in Stoke. Y’know, just in case you were wondering.