“With Barcelona already ahead, Messi latches onto an Iniesta assist to double the lead against Guardiola’s Manchester City, the centerpiece goal of a ruthless Champions League group-stage hat-trick and his 88th strike in the competition.”
Messi’s ruthless Champions League hat-trick against Guardiola’s Manchester City, capped with a late assist, turns a tight group-stage showdown into a statement of total control at the height of his peak years.
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.
With Argentina’s World Cup hopes hanging in the balance in Quito, Messi restores a 2–1 lead over Ecuador on the way to a rescue hat-trick, his second strike of the night and 20th goal in World Cup qualifiers.
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.