Lionel Messi news: The PSG superstar scored a goal in a 3-1 win over Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League.
PSG survived an early scare after the Israeli team broke the tie in the 24th minute of the match. But the French team responded soon with Messi restoring parity in the 37th minute.
PSG would take the lead in the second half and eventually win the game. Kylian Mbappé gave PSG the lead in the 69th minute with Messi’s assist on goal. Neymar then made it 3-1 in the 88th minute to seal PSG’s victory.
The victory leaves PSG with six points from their first two games of the 22/23 Champions League group stage. They had beaten Juventus 2-1 in their first match, with Mbappé scoring both goals.
Lionel Messi News: Argentinian sets new Champions League record
Messi’s goal against Maccabi Haifa makes the Argentine the player who has scored the most opponents in the history of the Champions League.
Before his goal against Maccabi Haifa, Messi had scored against 38 different opponents in the Champions League. His lifelong rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, has also scored against 38 teams, and the two together held the record.
Now, Messi has made the record his own, with Maccabi Haifa as the 39th team he has scored a goal against in Europe’s biggest competition.
Messi will hold on to the record for a while as Ronaldo’s Manchester United failed to qualify for the Champions League this season.
Man Utd finished sixth in the Premier League last season and missed out on qualification for the Champions League as a result. They play in the Europa League this season.
Hence, Ronaldo cannot respond to Messi’s file, at least for now.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo remains the all-time top scorer in Champions League history. The 37-year-old has scored 140 goals in the Champions League.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 126 goals, 14 goals fewer than Ronaldo. His goal will be to get closer to the Portuguese goal record this season.
For his part, Messi has had a great start to the 22/23 season. The 35-year-old has already scored five goals for PSG this season. Three of them were scored in Ligue 1, while he also scored a goal in PSG’s victory over Nantes in the Trophee des Champions final. He has also provided an impressive eight assists so far in the 22/23 campaign.
