What a magical night Wednesday was for Lionel Messi!
With the nightmares of the 7-0 loss to Bayern Munich still haunting Barcelona, breaking his goalscoring curse against Manuel Neuer was on the Argentine’s agenda, as he aimed at securing the Blaugrana a crucial home win.
Things did not look well for the Catalan giants, as they were left frustrated Pep Guardiola’s disciplined defensive unit for 77 minutes, that was until a moment of brilliance from the four-time Ballon d’Or winner saw him score a brace in three minutes.
Neymar also made the score sheet, as the 1st leg of the semi-final encounter ended 3-0 in Luis Enrique’s crew’s favor.
Messi's display at Camp Nou saw him break several records, one of which was reclaiming his spot as the Champions League’s all-time leading scorer, a position rival Cristiano Ronaldo held for a single day.
The 27-year-old also scored the fastest brace in history in the Champions League last 4. See all the amazing new stats and records set by Messi on Wednesday below.
Messi surpasses Cristiano for most goals in Champions League history and ties him for most goals in Champions Cup
— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) May 6, 2015
Most goal in UCL history: 77 | Messi (97 games) 76 | Cristiano Ronaldo (114 games)
— MESSISTATS (@MessiStats) May 6, 2015
Messi's brace (in 3 minutes) was the fastest in the semifinals in Champions League history
— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) May 6, 2015
Fastest braces in the Champions League semis: [in 3 minutes] Messi [in 4 minutes] Ramos and Anderson [in 5 minutes] Inzaghi and Lewandowski
— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) May 6, 2015
77 - Messi's 77 goals in the Champions League: Left foot - 60 Right foot - 13 Head - 4. Finish.
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) May 6, 2015
Messi has now scored 53 goals for Barcelona this season, in 51 appearances (26 assists) #fcbfcb
— MESSISTATS (@MessiStats) May 6, 2015
Top scorers in the Champions League this season: Lionel Messi (10) Cristiano Ronaldo (9) Luiz Adriano (9) pic.twitter.com/Pa7LPNwku7
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 6, 2015
MSN: 111 goals for Barcelona this season. #fcbfcb
— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) May 6, 2015
After the game ended, players and coaches alike were rushing to praise Leo, with team-mate Suarez hailing him as “the best in the world”, Luis Enrique claiming he is “from another dimension”, Guardiola admitting he is "unstoppable", and Iniesta insisting he was left “speechless” by his two goals.
What a good win and hard work from the whole team !!!! I leave a picture with the best in the world !!!!!
Vamossss!! Qué buena victoria y gran trabajo de todo el equipo!!!! Les dejo una foto con el mejor del MUNDO!!!!! pic.twitter.com/zbJvUvoOyb
— Luis Suarez (@LuisSuarez9) May 6, 2015
Messi posts this pic on FB after the 3-0 win, but calls for caution ahead of the trip to the Allianz Arena
Sacamos un buen resultado, pero aún no conseguimos nada. Quedan 90 minutos muy complicados en Múnich, hay que estar...
Posted by Leo Messi on Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Spanish defender Gerard Pique also had some kind words for Messi, saying: “Guardiola was right, there is nobody that can stop Messi. Messi scored two fantastic goals against the best keeper in the world & the second one was incredible.”
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