With two goals and two assists – Lionel Messi accomplished another mind-blowing performance in the Champions League Tuesday. Paris Saint Germain wins 7-2 against Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Champions League group encounter. At the same time, he managed to break a few records. One of them, for years, belonged to the legendary Pele.

It was Messi’s evening in Paris. He put on a masterclass performance against Maccabi Haifa and scored his first goal in the 19th minute, his second just before the break, and added two more assists on goals by Neymar and Carlos Soler. What’s more, the first goal was already Messi’s 10th of the season, counting all club competitions. And this means that the Argentine has just completed his 17th consecutive season since 2006/2007, reaching a double-digit number of goals – four in the Champions League, six in Ligue 1 and one in the French Super Cup.

Just a little bit more and Messi would’ve hit another Champions League Hattrick. But the second goal against the Israelis meant that Lionel has scored more goals from outside the penalty area (23) than anyone else in the tournament since his debut in 2004/05. We can’t wait to see what Messi does in the FIFA World Cup.

Leo Messi breaks Pele’s record

After the Argentinean’s outstanding performance against Maccabi Haifa, statisticians have begun to analyze his achievements. According to the Barca Universum profile, Messi in the Champions League game against Maccabi Haifa, surpassed the legendary Pele’s total number of goals and assists.

The Brazilian contributed to 1126 goals across his entire professional career, while 35-year-old Messi has already produced 1127.

Statisticians usually argue about this kind of ‘records’ because ‘assists’ are often counted differently. On top of that, in Pele’s playing days, statistics were not as popular as they are today.

There is no doubt about Pele’s other records, which the Argentinian has already broken.

At the end of 2020, Messi scored his 644th goal for Barcelona in a match against Real Valladolid and surpassed the Brazilian in the number of goals for a single club (Pele scored 643 goals for Santos). A year ago, Messi also exceeded Pele in the number of goals scored for the national team (the Brazilian scored 77, and Messi had already scored 90).

Bad news for Ronaldo

That’s not the end of record-breaking moments for Messi, which will not be welcomed well by his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Messi’s two latest hits against Maccabi Haifa means he now has 80 Champions League goals scored overall in the group phase of the Champions League in just 85 matches. However, Ronaldo (with 73 goals so far) doesn’t have these opportunities as his current team, Manchester United, play in the Europa League this season.

There was another record for the Argentine too. At 35 years and 123 days, Messi is now the oldest player in UEFA Champions League history to score and assist twice in a single game. Ronaldo has achieved that on more than one occasion. In the most recent of Champions League games, he did so for Real Madrid in their 4-3 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, but it was seven years ago on November 25, 2015, when Ronaldo was 30 years old.

Back in September, Messi became the first player to score against 39 different teams in the Champions League. Manchester United icon Ronaldo has scored against 38 various clubs in this prestigious tournament. 

They are both staying tied on eight hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League competition. Will Messi overtake Cristiano on this one, too, this season?  

Top scorers in the UEFA Champions League history

The Paris Saintgermain players’ goals allowed them to move up in the Champions League 22/23 goalscoring standings. Mbappe took the lead with six goals, while Messi moved to 3rd position with four hits. These two players are the main contributors for Paris Saint Germain wins in recent times.

 

The Argentine has come close to the all-time record. The seven-time Golden Ball winner has scored 129 goals in the Champions League so far. Cristiano Ronaldo, who boasts an astonishing number of 140 goals, is at the top of the list. Robert Lewandowski, with 91 Champions League goal, occupies 3rd position.

 

Current standings of the top scorers in Champions League history:

 

• Cristiano Ronaldo – 140 goals

• Lionel Messi – 129 goals

• Robert Lewandowski – 91 goals

• Karim Benzema – 86 goals

• Raul – 71 goals

• Ruud van Nistelrooy – 56 goals

• Thomas Muller – 53 goals

• Thierry Henry – 50 goals

•  Alfredo di Stefano – 49 goals

10. Zlatan Ibrahimović – 48 goals

 

PSG before the last Champions League group stage round

Thanks to the Paris Saint Germain wins over Maccabi Haifa, Paris Saintgermain has 11 points after five rounds and is the leader of Group H of the UEFA Champions League. Benfica Lisbon, who defeated Juventus Turin (4-2), have the same number of points, and it’s the French and Portuguese who are sure to be promoted to the knockout phase.

PSG’s last UEFA Champions League group stage match will take place on Wednesday, 2nd of November. They will face Juventus – in Turin. 

Grupa H UEFA Champions League 22/23

 

		Team	M	P	GD		W	D	L		FORM
	1.	PSG	5	11	14:6		3	2	0		WDDWW
	2.	Benfica	5	11	10:6		3	2	0		WDDWW
	3.	Juventus	5	3	8:11		1	0	4		L L W L L
	.	Maccabi Haifa	5	3	6:15		1	0	4		LWLLL

 

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Rafa