"This means just because Messi gets the ball and is an excellent dribbler, you think it is ok to let him go freely? No it isn't. "

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "let him go freely". Nobody wants to let great players like Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Maradona, etc go freely. They're great because they can't be stopped. Not for a long time.

I think we can agree to disagree but the fact is, Barca did a few things differently which changed the game the way it was between the two legs.
1) Barca came out with a positive frame of mind. I've coached little league teams and played for a club and I do understand how team morale and determination takes care of where you lack in skill. With Barca, they don't even lack in that department.
2) Barca made a very crucial change in formation. They went to a quasi-3-4-3 arrangement using Alves as the 2nd right winger. Barca's big issue was trying to break through the center which they were doing helplessly vs Madrid and vs Milan. By slimming down the corridor, and pushing two DM's with one completely focused on harassing Messi, Madrid and Milan managed to keep him quiet. But the reason for that was Barca was relying way too much on Messi lately. So even if Messi gets past one or two midfielders, the other two CB's would step up. Without lateral movement of Messi's wingers, you had two DM's and two CB's surrounding Messi constantly. With Villa pressing diagonally ahead of Messi and Alves to his right with another dribbler (Iniesta) behind, Barca created channels for Messi and doubt for Milan.

I was of the opinion before the game started that Barca should go to a 4-2-3-1 formation because I wasn't so sure about Barca's ability to handle a counterattack with a 3-4-3. Barca at times were pressing with the ball using a 3-2-3-1 or even a 3-2-4 (staggered) formation. But I did believe we needed more width. Long time ago a commentator mentioned how Barca's Camp Nou pitch which is about a meter wider than more stadiums provides barca the extra advantage. It is indeed quite difficult for teams to play Barca when they are pressing on the wings.

I would agree that Allegri wanted to play the same game as they did in Milan but its one thing to want to execute something and another to actually do it especially when you're playing Barca. Your analysis is good and spot on and it would be helpful for Milan to realize what not to do in the future. However, I still refuse to accept that the first goal was Milan's fault. Between Busquets' pass to Messi and the score, it took exactly 3 seconds. Basically, there were 3 passes, one side step and a shot. In the meanwhile, Messi had three defenders in front of him, 2 behind him. I'm not sure how many players in the history of football can find an opening in a wall, within a second and shoot so accurately, the keeper has no time to react. That, my friend, is brilliance. You can't analyze it and prepare your players to stop it. Why? Because you just can't.

Remember when Ronaldinho score that goal past Cech at Stamford bridge, where he danced for 2 seconds and took a shot with the outside of his foot? You can say the defender made a mistake or you can say that Ronaldinho is just that good.

I think we're looking at things from opposite sides of the spectrum. You're assuming that Milan was capable of stopping Barca because they did it at San Siro. I think on a given day, ANY team can beat Barca but when Barca are playing their best game, there isn't a team on this planet that can stop them. Milan found Barca during one of their worst phases in the past 6 years and on tuesday they found Barca at their best form

IF the marker hand been on the right side of him? Busquets sent in a defence splitting pass. Not sure why you don't recognize that was a brilliant play executed to perfection. You also can't press if Messi has options to pass behind the defender. Besides, what you're forgetting is Messi was right at the edge of the box. You charge, he dribbles, you trip him. Depending on where he is, you either give him a penalty or a FK from close range, something he's quite good at too.

Mourinho has stopped Messi a few times by using Pepe as the central anchor. He's the one who's supposed to take Barca off their rhythm. Ambrosini made several mistakes and wasn't that great. So if you want to blame someone, its the DM on Milan's team. You can't stop Barca with a 4 man defence. It has to be 6 to 7 at all times with the forwards also chipping in.

Also, Milan did try to press to regain possession but Barca got it back. There's no team on earth which presses as well as Barca. So up until, the end of the game, when Barca decided to defend their lead, Milan couldn't get possession

Testing 2 :    

Meh I must assume that Piszczek was your star defender then:


Smuda=2 | Verified
Szczesny=-4 | My calculation
Piszczek*=22 (11 as normal) | Verified
Selassie=22 | Verified
Papadopoulos=3 | My calculation
Papastathopoulos=7 | My calculation

Özil*=96 (48 as normal) | Verified
Ribery=24 | Verified
Silva=56 (still 1 match to go) Verified

Benzema=25 | Verified
Gomez*=84 (42 as normal) | Verified
Torres=26 (still 1 match to go) | Verified

Total=363

Alternatively with Selassie as star defender it would be

11
44

Total=374


[These calculation also take notes of the points from matches today. Gomez get 2 for playing part of game and lose (4 as star) and Özil gets 8 for playing full game scoring (16 as star)]
_______________________________________________________________________

There is people above you who has Torres and Silva in their team so there is no longer even an theoretical chance for you to win even if Silva assisted Torres 100 times