“Against Porto at the Club World Cup, Messi restores Inter Miami’s lead and marks his 50th goal for the club, underlining his late-career push on the global stage with career strike No. 866.”
Messi’s trademark free-kick brings up his 50th goal for Inter Miami in a Club World Cup group clash with Porto, earning Man of the Match as he dictates play over the full 90 minutes on the global stage.
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’s World Cup hopes hanging in the balance in Quito, Messi restores a 2–1 lead over Ecuador on the way to a rescue hat-trick, his second strike of the night and 20th goal in World Cup qualifiers.
With Porto’s keeper rushing out after a defensive mix-up, Messi calmly drags the ball around him and finishes from a tight central angle to break the deadlock in the Super Cup final, sealing his first goal in this competition and career strike number 201.
Against the Copa América champions Chile in a tense World Cup qualifier, Messi calmly sends the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot to break the deadlock and keep Argentina’s fragile campaign on track, recording career goal 552 and his 18th in World Cup qualifiers.