Lionel Messi once again stole the show in Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League semi-final first leg victory against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night – prompting widespread speculation it could be amongst his best ever.
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The Argentine superstar scored a three-minute brace at the Camp Nou, including a stunning second as he fooled Jerome Boateng with an excellent piece for skill before dinking the ball over Manuel Neuer and into the net to give his side a very good chance of reaching the final, but it’s not the first time Messi has excelled in an Champions League knockout tie.
Take a look at three of his other memorable performances in Champions League knockout stages.
3) v Arsenal (April 6th 2010 – quarter-final)
Following a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg, many felt Arsenal had a decent chance to progress and they stunned the hosts early on by taking the lead on the night and on aggregate through Nicklas Bendtner.
That only seemed to anger Messi as he went on to complete a hat-trick before the break and then added his and Barcelona’s fourth with two minutes left of the game to send the Catalan giants into the next round.
2) v Real Madrid (27th April 2011 – semi-final)
At this stage four years ago Messi single-handedly won this game for Barcelona against their fiercest rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Again he scored a brace but it was his second that will be remembered for years to come as he received the ball midway inside the Real half, skipped past the challenges of Lassana Diarra, Raul Albiol and Marcelo before calmly slotting the ball past Iker Casillas for one of the greatest goals of all time.
1) v Bayer Leverkusen (7th March 2012 – first knockout round)
Bayern can find some solace in the fact that they are not the only German outfit that Messi has worked his wonders against as Leverkusen found out the hard way at the Camp Nou.
The Argentine became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League fixture as the Catalans hammered the Bundesliga side 7-1 to cruise into the quarter-final three years ago.