“In the 2011 Champions League final against Manchester United, Messi restores Barcelona’s lead at 2–1 from an Iniesta assist, turning the showpiece decisively their way and adding another strike to his growing European tally.”
On the biggest stage of the 2011 Champions League final, Messi dominates Manchester United from deep, dictating play with 97/104 passes and 13/15 dribbles before smashing a low winner from distance that tilts the entire contest Barcelona’s way.
From a chance worth just xG 0.0381, Messi squeezes a difficult left-foot finish past Villarreal to restore Barça’s lead 2–1 just before half-time, ultimately standing as the winning goal and pushing him to 346 La Liga strikes and 561 in his career.
From a low-probability 0.04 xG chance against Getafe, Messi lashes a difficult left-foot finish to break the deadlock and ignite a man-of-the-match display, pushing his La Liga tally to 70 career goals and 24 for the season.
From a chance worth just xG 0.034, Messi threads a brutally difficult left-foot finish to break the deadlock against Sporting Gijón, and the strike quietly writes history as his 300th La Liga goal.
With Argentina’s World Cup hopes teetering after the shock loss to Saudi Arabia, Messi breaks Mexico’s resistance with a Di María-assisted opener that finally unlocks the group campaign and becomes his eighth World Cup goal and 788th of his career.