“Completing his hat-trick from the spot in the 89th minute against Switzerland, Messi calmly sends the keeper the wrong way to seal a 3–1 win and close out career goal No. 245.”
Messi nets a full 90-minute hat-trick for Argentina in a low-stakes friendly, turning a routine Switzerland outing into a showcase of his emerging national-team scoring streak and growing leadership at age 24.
With Barcelona already ahead in this Copa del Rey knockout tie, Messi calmly converts from the spot to double the lead against Atlético Madrid and seal both the win and his hat-trick, bringing up career goal No.70 in the process.
In a tense Barcelona derby locked at 1–1 in the 90th minute, Messi calmly converts from the spot to snatch a last-gasp league winner and record his 35th La Liga goal.
At 0–0 in a tight Champions League group tie against Viktoria Plzeň, Messi calmly sends the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot to break the deadlock, a routine-looking penalty that also nudges him closer to his 200th Barcelona goal and marks his 40th in the competition.
Against Estonia in a low-key friendly, Messi calmly sends the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot to break the deadlock and begin the avalanche that leads to his five-goal haul and pushes him toward 1100 career goal contributions.