A Messi post-mortem

Why did Leo Messi play in Bilbao? Why did he play in Munich, but not at the Camp Nou? There were many unanswered questions on the night that Messi remained on the bench due to him not feeling fully fit ahead of the game against Bayern.

Messi's injury problems started at the business end of the season. He got injured at the Parc des Princes and since then his presence on the pitch has been somewhat sporadic due to his ongoing muscular problems

He only needed half an hour against the French side to lead the comeback from 1-0 down. His presence was decisive, despite a muted performance during which he barely moved on the pitch after Barça levelled the encounter thanks to build-up play that started with Messi and culminated with Pedro equalising and sealing the Catalans' place in the next round.

In the end, he never really fully recovered from his injury and he missed the most important games of the season. Barça has paid the price for that. Should he have been rotated more or rested in the league? The answer lies with Tito Vilanova and his coaching staff.