“Against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, Messi caps a flowing move with Kylian Mbappé to double PSG’s lead in a Champions League group clash, sealing his first ever goal for the Paris club and pushing his tally to 121 in the competition.”
In his first Champions League goal for PSG, Messi crowns a flowing counter with a trademark top-corner strike against Manchester City, extending his superb scoring run while reaffirming his dominance over Guardiola’s side on Europe’s biggest stage.
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.