He may be just 5 foot 6 but Lionel Messi is certainly the most intimidating footballer on the planet right now.

That was evident last night as a half-fit Messi took to the field against PSG just after the hour mark and then went on to make an instant impact, playing a key role in Pedro's equalizer which tied up the scores.

Below is a snapshot of Barcelona and PSG's team shapes midway through an impotent and scrappy first half.

As you can see below, nominal false 9 Cesc Fabregas spent much time linking up with the players stationed behind him like Xavi and Sergio Busquets. 

But when Messi came on, he took up a number of different positions even though he did occupy a similar area to Fabregas. 

But as you can see in the first 15 minutes of his time on the pitch, the Argentine spent less time passing backwards, tending to link up with team-mates from a deeper position which was how Barcelona's equaliser came about as Pedro and David Villa made runs off him.

Notice also, that PSG centre-back Alex instinctively moves closer to his midfielders to close the space in the area that Messi loves. It is only the slightest of shifts but it opens up space for Pedro to run into.

Diagrams via UEFA.com