“With Barcelona already ahead, Messi caps a flowing move with Luis Suárez to double the lead against Dortmund in a Champions League group clash, rounding off a masterclass display that includes two assists and taking his tally to 114 goals in the competition and 683 overall.”
On the night he collects his 300th Man of the Match award, Messi tears through Dortmund in a Champions League group tie with a goal and two assists, orchestrating Barcelona’s attack from start to finish.
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.
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 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 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.