How did Alvarez become so good with free kicks? One word - Messi

Atletico Madrid stunned Barcelona yesterday at Camp Nou and made a major step towards their first Champions League semi-finals since 2017.

And even though Pau Cubarsi's dismissal significantly eased Los Colchoneros' job, while Alexander Sorloth's goal sealed Barca's fate, it's safe to say that Julian Alvarez's free-kick opener was the crucial (and most beautiful) moment of the game.

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It was the popular Spider's ninth goal in the elite competition this season, breaking Diego Costa's 12-year-old record and becoming the Atleti player with the most goals in a single UCL campaign.

After the match, the press mainly wanted to know what Alvarez's secret was and how he became so good at taking free kicks. His answer was simple - Lionel Messi.

"Messi... When I’m with the national team, I always take time to watch how he does it, then I try to copy his technique in training and matches," Julian revealed before touching on a similar goal Leo scored seven years ago, also at Camp Nou, against Liverpool.

"I've watched Messi's goal against Liverpool [in May 2019] here [at the Camp Nou] several times, but I wasn't entirely sure it was going into that exact corner," he said via ESPN.

Finally, he disclosed that the day before the game was not his best when it came to free-kick taking.

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"Once you strike the ball, you realise it, and even before I kicked, I was already quite certain. We were practising yesterday and I hadn't converted a single one. Today was what mattered," the Argentinian said.

Now, Messi may not be entirely happy, as Alvarez crushed his beloved Barcelona, but he will undoubtedly be proud of his young compatriot and happy that he affected him so much as a role model.