Lionel Messi's winner in the final second of the 266th Clasico between Real Madrid and Barcelona has reignited the Primera Division title race. Once again, the Argentine's individual brilliance overcame every obstacle. Anyone who loves football should be glad to have witnessed it.
Trying to name the greatest player of all time has always been futile. After so many decades of professional football, what criteria could settle the question with certainty?
Take the legendary Brazilian Pele. What he did with the ball in the 1950s and 1960s can hardly be compared with the qualities a player needs to stand apart through individual ability in today's game.
Football has changed: the pace is many times higher, and players' athletic abilities come close to the limits of what is physically possible. Pele was a genius nonetheless. Comparing him with players of today remains misleading.
Be glad to be alive now
If you've spent the past 15 years on this planet, there's a better response when someone asks who the greatest of all time is. Tell football fans to be glad they're alive now.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi took the standard at the top of football to a new level years ago. They occupy a class of their own, scoring with dizzying regularity and leaving spectators astonished time and again by their individual dominance.
Whether neutral or otherwise, football fans should be happy to live through their era. In 20 years' time, we may well miss the genius and uniqueness of both players. What they show us is unique in sport.
Messi delivers a magical evening
Which of the two is better cannot be settled here. But the 266th Clasico brought Messi and Ronaldo together in another direct duel, and Barcelona's 3-2 win at Real Madrid, sealed in literally the final second, reignited the Primera Division title race.
Ronaldo has had better days than this Sunday evening at the Bernabeu. Messi, by contrast, produced a typically Messi performance and won the match single-handedly. That might sound like an exaggeration, but it is simply a statement of fact.
For the spectators, Madrid fans need not count themselves among them, Messi produced the kind of magical evening only a player of his calibre can deliver. Sometimes that takes three or more goals. This Clasico gave his performance more than a hat-trick against a mid-table team could have done.
Messi's moves open the way
The Argentine had plenty to overcome. With his team struggling to establish control early on, Messi dropped conspicuously deep to collect the ball and give Barca's play at least some sort of structure going forward. 
Barca immediately grew into the game as Messi operated centrally, almost as a number ten. Time and again, his individual moves created the space from which dangerous situations could develop.
After twelve minutes, Casemiro brought him down roughly during one such move. After 21 minutes, Messi accidentally caught Marcelo's elbow. Bleeding, he stuffed a tissue into his mouth and carried on as though playing that way were perfectly normal.
Messi trusts his own genius
That is one difference between Messi and Ronaldo. CR7 presents himself as a superstar, loves the big stage and enjoys the spotlight.
Messi, by comparison, comes across like a modest schoolboy. His expression rarely changes, which, in a way, makes him unpredictable. He knows full well that he is superior to everyone else. His confidence in his own genius is unmistakable, and his opponents know it too.
The looks on the Real players' faces after Messi made it 1-1 said plenty. The 29-year-old picked out a magnificent run, had to receive the ball and, of course, did. Two quick movements opened up space, and he scored with only goalkeeper Keylor Navas in front of him.
500th competitive goal for Barcelona
Resignation showed on the Madrid players' faces. In principle, they could have defended the attack better, but Messi was involved, and he has always been difficult to stop. How much blame could they really take?
Desperation may also have gripped Sergio Ramos when he challenged Messi with enormous force after 78 minutes. The Argentine was fortunate to lift his legs in time. Ramos saw red, giving Barca and Messi a second wind.
Then came the winner, typical of Messi's stealthy style, which can shift from seeming detachment to technical magic. It arrived in the final second, reignited the title race and took his club's last chance. It was also his 500th competitive goal for Barcelona alone.
I overcome every obstacle
Sergi Roberto, one of Barca's weakest players that evening, made the goal possible. His powerful run through the opposition half brought Messi into play, though Messi had played no part in the move until then. He stayed in the background for a moment, read what was developing and made the only run that could have allowed a Barcelona player to shoot in that situation.
A pass back into space, Messi's precision and an unstoppable goal. The Santiago Bernabeu fell silent. Shirt in hand, Messi stood like the bull in the arena, every eye on him. Without intending to, his gesture seemed to say: you try to stop me, but I overcome every obstacle.
This was the most spectacular Clasico in years, a match that showed how football can captivate and excite its spectators.
Messi and Ronaldo stand above everyone else in the current era, making games like this possible. Pele could do that too, with the same consistency, but under incomparable circumstances more than 50 years ago.
Lionel Messi profile