“Luis Suárez’s assist sets up Messi’s fifth for Barcelona on the night, completing his 40th career hat-trick and pushing his Champions League tally to 86 in a ruthless demolition of Celtic.”
In Barcelona’s first Champions League outing under Luis Enrique’s final season, Messi shredded a traditionally stubborn Celtic side with a ruthless hat-trick and a sleek assist, turning a potentially tricky opener into a statement rout. His early goal set the tone, and the seamless understanding with Neymar and Suárez made this night a showcase of the MSN era at full power on the European stage.
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 do-or-die World Cup qualifier away to Ecuador, Messi completes his hat-trick from an Otamendi assist to turn Argentina’s once-precarious campaign into a 3–1 lead, pushing them firmly toward Russia and adding another strike to his towering World Cup qualifying tally.
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.
With Barcelona already turned around against Arsenal, Messi latches onto Seydou Kéita’s pass to stretch the quarter-final lead to 3–1, completing his hat-trick on the way to a four-goal Champions League masterclass and reaching his 24th goal in the competition.