They hoicked him down by fair means and foul, they hurled their bodies in his path like suffragettes and they tackled him as if their lives depended on it. One lunatic in the crowd even fired a green laser light into his eyes to try to stop him.
And at the end of a throbbing evening in San Siro, AC Milan pulled off what is seemingly becoming the most difficult trick in football these days by stopping Lionel Messi in full cry.
Actually, more than that, they prevented Barcelona, who have scored 15 goals in four games on their euro travels this season, from troubling the scorers in this absorbing quarter-final first leg.
A staggering measure of this achievement? This was the first time in 30 Champions League matches, stretching back more than two years to a 0-0 draw with Rubin Kazan, that Barcelona had been held scoreless in Europe. It felt as if it was practically worth a Champions League medal on its own.
Of course, the Italian champions have to do it all again — and more – next Tuesday and if this night felt for long swathes like trial by carousel for Milan, as Barca rained in 17 attempts on their goal, then they are only likely to feel dizzier by the time they are reintroduced to the Nou Camp’s broad acres.
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