Legendary
1st Leg#249
UCL · Quarter-Final · 2nd Leg2010-04-06 · 20:45:00
4-1
Barcelona
Arsenal
HT 3–1·Agg 6 - 3
Spotify Camp Nou · Barcelona · 93,330 spectatorsRef: Wolfgang Stark
4Goals
10.0Rating
MOTMHat-trick
“On a Champions League night heavy with pressure, Messi dismantled a Wenger-era Arsenal with one of the most ruthless individual displays in the competition’s history. His first-half hat-trick and a fourth after the break didn’t just overturn the tie, they announced him as the era’s defining big-game scorer on Europe’s biggest stage.”
Match Story
Events
Stats
Context
History
Media
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Goals Only
Barcelona
KO
Arsenal18
Nicklas Bendtner0–1
18
Nicklas Bendtner
0–1
21
Lionel Messi1–1
Lionel Messi
1–1
21
31
Denílson
31
Denílson
37
Lionel Messi2–1
Pedro
Lionel Messi
2–1
Pedro
37
42
Lionel Messi3–1
Seydou Kéita
Lionel Messi
3–1
Seydou Kéita
42
44
Tomáš Rosický
44
Tomáš Rosický
HT3–1
53
▲Maxwell
▼Éric Abidal
▲Maxwell
▼Éric Abidal
53
56
▲Yaya Touré
▼Bojan Krkic
▲Yaya Touré
▼Bojan Krkic
56
64
▲Emmanuel Eboué
▼Mikaël Silvestre
64
▲Emmanuel Eboué
▼Mikaël Silvestre
67
Emmanuel Eboué
67
Emmanuel Eboué
73
▲Eduardo da Silva
▼Tomáš Rosický
73
▲Eduardo da Silva
▼Tomáš Rosický
86
▲Andrés Iniesta
▼Pedro
▲Andrés Iniesta
▼Pedro
86
88
Lionel Messi4–1
Lionel Messi
4–1
88
FT4–1
Match Moments
KO
1
Shot
In the opening minute, Milito launches a long ball toward Messi, but Almunia comes out to claim it safely.
4
Near Miss
Messi cuts inside and unleashes a brilliant low shot across goal that Almunia palms away for a corner, almost giving Barcelona an early lead.
11
Shot
From the edge of the box, Messi squeezes off a shot with barely any space, but it dips too late and flies just over the bar.
12
Shot
Messi slides a pass to Dani Alves on the right, whose ensuing cross is blocked by the Arsenal defense.
21
Goal
Messi levels the match with a phenomenal strike from the edge of the box, stepping past Silvestre before the ball ricochets back to him and he lashes it into the net in trademark fashion.
29
Dribble
Messi drives forward, battling through three or four challenges before Denílson halts him with a strong tackle that is controversially booked.
31
Near Miss
Twisting and turning past Silvestre into the box, Messi torments the defender before firing into the side netting from a tight angle.
37
Goal
Abidal breaks down the left and his cross, helped on by Pedro, finds Messi, who takes a touch and calmly slots past Almunia with his right foot for his second of the night.
42
Goal
Abidal’s header sends Messi through on goal and, as Almunia rushes out, Messi delicately scoops the ball over him to complete a breathtaking first-half hat-trick.
43
Near Miss
Immediately after his hat-trick, Messi is sent through again, but an unusually heavy touch lets the ball run away and the chance slips by.
HT3–1
49
Shot
Pedro threads a perfect ball into the box for Messi, who slides in but just fails to make solid contact as the chance goes begging.
53
Dribble
Messi surges forward and finds Pedro, who lays the ball off to Bojan, but the youngster fires wide of the target.
81
Dribble
Messi once again tortures the Arsenal defense, dribbling past several players twice inside the box before Vermaelen finally dispossesses him as he tries to shift onto his left foot.
88
Goal
Messi pounces with a driving run after Eboué is caught out of position, beats Vermaelen and sees his first shot saved by Almunia, then coolly nutmegs the keeper with the rebound for his fourth goal.
FT4–1
Milestones
4goals in one game
Four goals in a single match is poker-level dominance that even elite forwards rarely touch across an entire career. Turning one game into his personal shooting gallery, he showed how easily he could bend the scoreboard to his will.
Messi's Performance
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