What seemed to be a complicated game for Barcelona ended up becoming a walk in the park for Los Blaugranas thanks to their superstar.
The Argentine footballer scored the first goal of the competition, something he had never accomplished before. Later, Messi added two more goals to his tally, sealing a 4-0 score for the Catalan giants.
Needless to say, whenever Messi plays a game such as this one, record books are re-written. "La Pulga" added a few milestones to his already impressive resume, including one he will share with one of his closest friends.
First off, no player in history has scored more hat-trick than Messi.
Lionel Messi has completed his th #UCL hat-trick, moving him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) September 18, 2018
It is his rd treble on matchday one of the competition.
Most @ChampionsLeague hat-tricks
8: Lionel Messi
7: Cristiano Ronaldo
3: Luiz Adriano
3: Mario Gomez
3: Filippo Inzaghi pic.twitter.com/SR1C0zVaH7
Then, he established a personal best with his free kick goal during the first half of the game.
8 - Lionel Messi has scored eight direct free-kicks in 2018 - the most he has netted in a calendar year. Laser. pic.twitter.com/clYvloZWu3
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 18, 2018
Need more? Well, Messi became the second player in Barcelona's history to score the first goal in a UEFA Champions League season. Who shares this honor with him? None other than Andrés Iniesta, in the 2006-2007 season.
"Messi has scored the first goal of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in his career. Here you have the list of first scorers in the competition.
Messi ha abierto la cuenta anotadora (primera vez que lo hace) de la UEFA Champions League 2018-19. Aquí tenéis la relación de todos los primeros goleadores en la historia de la competición. pic.twitter.com/lmx91lrjtn
— MisterChip (Alexis) (@2010MisterChip) September 18, 2018