“With Barcelona surprisingly trailing Olympiacos at home, Messi hauls them level in this Champions League group tie, a key strike on the night he moves to 97 goals in the competition and drives a dominant man-of-the-match display.”
Extending a hot scoring streak in the Champions League group stage, Messi bends in a trademark free-kick and adds a precise assist to dominate Olympiacos as Barcelona’s 30-year-old talisman runs the game for 90 minutes.
Against Liverpool in a Champions League semi-final, Messi’s late third for Barcelona turns a tight 2–0 into a daunting 3–0 cushion and also marks his 600th goal for the club, a mythic milestone reached on one of Europe’s biggest stages.
In a Copa América quarter-final Argentina already lead 2–0 when Messi caps a dominant captain’s display with a stoppage-time third against Ecuador, sealing a 1+2 masterclass and pushing his international tally to career goal 748 and Copa América goal 13.
Against Panama at the Copa América Centenario, Messi completes a 29‑minute hat-trick by stretching Argentina’s lead to 3–0, a ruthless cameo that also pushes him past 500 career goals and to his fifth strike in the tournament’s history.
Against hosts United States in the Copa América Centenario semi-final, Messi’s strike doubles Argentina’s lead and effectively kills the contest, while also marking his 50th goal of a relentless season and underlining his dominance in a man-of-the-match masterclass.