“At 90+4' with Barcelona level in Donetsk, Messi latches onto Xavi’s pass to snatch a stoppage-time Champions League winner, retaking the lead and bringing up his 10th goal in the competition.”
Coming off the bench for just 31 minutes, Messi strikes twice late in a tight Champions League group clash against Shakhtar, flipping the game and sealing a dramatic turnaround as a 21-year-old emerging star.
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’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.
Piqué’s stoppage-time assist caps a dominant night as Messi completes his hat-trick against Viktoria Plzeň, turning a routine group win into the moment he reaches 200 goals for Barcelona and 42 in the Champions League.
Against fierce rivals Uruguay in a tense World Cup qualifier, Messi breaks the first-half deadlock for Argentina’s only goal of the match, a vital strike in a turbulent campaign that also becomes his 16th goal in World Cup qualifying and 512th of his career.