“Trailing 2–0 in the Copa del Rey final, Messi drags Barcelona back into contention against Valencia with a late strike that caps a 12-shot, Man-of-the-Match performance and becomes his 51st goal of the season and 51st in the competition.”
In a Copa del Rey final where Barcelona trail, Messi extends his hot scoring streak with a relentless 12-shot, 1-goal display and still earns Man of the Match, driving a late push that nearly drags his team back into the game.
In a tense Champions League quarter-final at 0–0 against PSG, Messi latches onto Dani Alves’ defence-splitting pass to break the deadlock, opening the scoring on the night and pushing his career tally to 342 goals, including 59 in the competition.
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.
Against a relentless Liverpool in a Champions League semi-final, Messi doubles Barcelona’s lead to tilt the tie decisively their way, and the strike also becomes his mythical 600th goal for the club.
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.