“Seydou Kéita’s late assist in a 7–1 demolition of Leverkusen caps a Champions League knockout masterclass, as Messi’s fifth of the night pushes Barcelona’s rout into historic territory and also brings up his 250th career goal.”
Messi reaches the 250-goal mark for Barcelona by scoring an unprecedented five times in a Champions League knockout tie against Leverkusen, turning a Round of 16 clash into his personal goal-scoring exhibition.
Against a relentless Liverpool in a Champions League semi-final, Messi doubles Barcelona’s lead to tilt the tie decisively their way, and the strike also becomes his mythical 600th goal for the club.
In a tense El Clásico Champions League semi-final deadlocked at 0–0, Messi latches onto Afellay’s low cross to break Madrid’s resistance and give Barcelona a crucial first-leg lead, on the way to a brace and his 35th Champions League goal.
With Argentina trailing 1–0 in a must-win World Cup qualifier in Quito, Messi latches onto Ángel Di María’s early pass to level the score and ignite the hat-trick that drags his country back toward Russia, bringing up career goal 580 in the process.
In a Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona trailing Arsenal, Messi’s first strike instantly drags Barça level and ignites the four-goal masterclass that turns this night into his iconic Camp Nou ‘poker’, capped as career goal No.129 and his 22nd in the competition.