Barcelona's Lionel Messi became the Champions
League's all-time top scorer with a hat-trick against Apoel Nicosia.
Messi went into the
Group F game in Cyprus level on 71 goals with former Real Madrid forward Raul.
Luis Suarez had
already opened the scoring with his first goal for the club when Messi diverted
Rafinha's 38th-minute shot past the keeper.
Messi netted his
second in the 58th-minute with a low right-foot finish before tapping home from
close range. Continue..
Messi's records
|
|
Champions League top
scorer:74
|
La Liga top scorer: 253
|
Barcelona's top
goalscorer: 368
|
Most goals in a La
Liga season: 50
|
Most goals in a
season: 73
|
Most consecutive La
Liga matches scored in: 21
|
Most Ballon d'Or
titles: 4
|
Most goals in a
single European Cup game: 5 (joint with Luiz Adriano)
|
Most European Cup
top scorer awards: 4 (with Gerd
Muller)
|
Most goals in
Clasicos: 21
|
Most La Liga
hat-tricks in a season: 8
|
Most goals in Club
World Cup: 4 (held
jointly with Denilson)
|
Most goals in a
calendar year: 91
|
"I am happy for
having achieved such a nice record in a competition of this importance,"
said the 27-year-old.
"But the really
relevant thing is that we took the three points.
"Barcelona played
a great match."
It is Messi's second
major record in four days, having scored a
landmark 253rd Spanish top-flight goal with a hat-trick
against Sevilla on Saturday.
Messi's latest
achievement earned him glowing praise from his manager Luis Enrique.
"I'll say it
again, he's the best ever in this game," said the former Spain midfielder.
Both teams finished
with 10 men on Tuesday, Rafinha sent off for two bookable offences 20 minutes
from time before Apoel Nicosia's Joao Guilherme followed him 14 minutes later,
also for a second booking.
It was Messi's 28th Barcelona
hat-trick, and his fifth in the Champions League.
The
Argentina international now has 74 Champions League goals in 91 appearances in
the competition.
Raul's
71 goals came in 142 games.
Real
Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who is expected to line up at Basel on Wednesday in
the competition, has 70 goals.
Barcelona
had already qualified for the knockout stages before their visit to Cyprus.
Enrique's
side are second in Group F with one game to go.
But
they will advance to the last 16 as group winners if they beat current group
leaders Paris St-Germain at the Nou Camp on 10 December.
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