“At 0–2 down against Valencia, Messi calmly sends the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot to drag Barcelona back into the contest, a composed conversion that also pushes him to 403 La Liga goals and 645 in his career.”
A determined Messi brace hauls Barcelona back from behind against Valencia, converting a pressure penalty and driving the attack with 8 shots and 3 key passes to preserve their unbeaten league run in a tense regular-season test.
In a World Cup final seen as his last chance at the trophy, Messi breaks the deadlock against France with an ice-cold penalty under immense pressure, setting Argentina on their way and recording his 12th World Cup strike and 792nd career goal.
In a World Cup semi-final against Croatia with Argentina’s campaign on a knife-edge, Messi calmly whips his penalty into the top corner to break the deadlock and move to 11 World Cup goals and 791 in his career.
In a frantic El Clásico at 3–3, Messi calmly pauses on the spot, waits for López to commit, then rolls the late penalty back across him to complete his hat-trick and restore Barça’s lead, sealing La Liga goal number 236 and career strike 384 under maximum pressure.
Against the Netherlands in a World Cup quarter-final, Messi calmly sends the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot to make it 2–0 under immense pressure, a nerveless finish that also brings up his 10th World Cup goal.