Messi equals record in Barca win
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Lionel Messi drew level with Raul’s all-time Champions League record of 71 goals after scoring twice in Barcelona’s 2-0 victory against Ajax.
Argentina international Messi scored in the 36th minute with a soft header after Ajax failed to clear a free kick.
His 71st goal in the competition came after he linked with substitute Pedro in the 76th minute as Barcelona qualified for the last 16.
Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain and Porto join Barca in the next round.
| Champions League record scorers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 71 goals | 90 games |
| Raul | 71 goals | 142 games |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 70 goals | 107 games |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy | 56 goals | 73 games |
| Thierry Henry | 50 goals | 112 games |
Messi has now surpassed Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 70, in the list of Champions League top scorers.
“Messi is without doubt the best player I’ve seen as a player and a coach,” said Barca manager Luis Enrique.
While it took Raul 142 Champions League outings to score his 71 goals, Messi’s appearance against Ajax was his 90th in the competition.
Ronaldo, who started and ended Real’s 1-0 win against Liverpool on Tuesday on 70 goals, has featured in the tournament 107 times.
Ajax, who are left to battle it out with Apoel Nicosia in Group F for third spot and a place in the Europa League, finished with 10 men against Barcelona after defender Joel Veltman was sent off for two yellow cards.
| Wednesday’s Champions League facts | |
|---|---|
| Barcelona’s Xavi played his 144th Champions League game, going level with Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas with the most appearances | Bayern Munich have scored 11 goals in four Champions League Group E games, conceding one, while taking a maximum 12 points |
| Ajax’s starting line-up had a combined total of 102 Champions League games – 42 less than Xavi has on his own | Only four of the Lionel Messi’s 71 Champions League goals have been headers |
Elsewhere in Group F, Uruguay international striker Edinson Cavani found the net in the first minute as leaders Paris St-Germain overcameApoel Nicosia 1-0 to advance.
Goals by Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze ensured Bayern Munich overcame Roma 2-0 to win Group E with two games to spare.
The Italians, who began the match with Francesco Totti, Gervinho and Miralem Pjanic on the bench, will be fighting with CSKA Moscow and Manchester City for second spot.
“I’d like to congratulate my players. I never expected to qualify after four games,” said Bayern manager Pep Guardiola.
However, Bayern’s victory came at a cost as left-back David Alaba injured medial knee ligaments and Guardiola expects him to miss the rest of the calendar year.
Nani, who is on loan from Manchester United, scored one as Chelsea’s Group G rivals Sporting Lisbon defeated Roberto Di Matteo’s Schalke4-2.
Sporting’s Portuguese rivals Porto overcame Athletic Bilbao 2-0 to seal their place in the last 16, Jackson Martinez and Yacine Brahimi with the goals.
Also in Group H, Shakhtar Donetsk defeated BATE Borisov 5-0, Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano scoring a hat-trick to take his tally in this season’s competition to nine goals in four appearances.
Edinson Cavani scored Paris St-Germain’s fastest goal ever in the Champions League
Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery has two Champions League goals this season.
Nani has scored three goals in four Champions League appearances for Sporting Lisbon since joining on loan from Manchester United
-BBC Sport
ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson
[email protected] An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.
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