“In Barcelona’s first Champions League outing under Luis Enrique’s final season, Messi shredded a traditionally stubborn Celtic side with a ruthless hat-trick and a sleek assist, turning a potentially tricky opener into a statement rout. His early goal set the tone, and the seamless understanding with Neymar and Suárez made this night a showcase of the MSN era at full power on the European stage.”
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Powered by NeoCortex · NeoAxonMessi opens the scoring with a vicious left‑footed strike from a tight angle on the left, arrowing the ball into the top right corner after a short corner move with Neymar.
Messi drifts into space outside the box and unleashes a left‑footed shot that bends just wide of the left post.
Messi doubles Barcelona’s lead, arriving close to goal to sweep a calm left‑footed finish into the bottom left corner after a neat combination with Neymar.
Timing his run into the area, Messi meets Neymar’s cross but lifts his left‑footed effort from the centre of the box over the bar.
Messi slaloms forward in the attacking half, riding challenges before being brought down and winning a free kick in a dangerous position.
Completing his hat‑trick, Messi darts into the six‑yard box to collect Luis Suárez’s pass and tucks a left‑footed shot into the bottom right corner.
From outside the box, Messi fires a skidding left‑footed shot toward the bottom left corner, but the Celtic goalkeeper gets down to make the save.
From a corner routine, Messi picks out Luis Suárez in front of goal, and Suárez converts from close range to make it 7–0.
Forty career hat-tricks puts him in a scoring stratosphere where most elite forwards never even reach double digits. Adding ten more since the 30-mark shows how quickly he can turn extraordinary into routine.