Lionel Messi broke his scoring duck against Liverpool with a brace in Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday night.
Barca won 3-0 with a former Red, Luis Suarez, scoring the other goal.
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Messi and Suarez have given Liverpool a mountain to climb for the second leg at Anfield
Messi’s first goal came in rather fortuitous circumstances but his second, which was his 600th for Barca, was just sensational.
His 30-yard free-kick went straight into the top corner, beating Alisson Becker all ends up.
Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand can’t contain their delight at Messi’s free kick
If you haven’t seen it already, here it is for you to enjoy!
Messi’s goalscoring record against Premier League teams revealed
But this got us thinking, where does this rank among his best goals against Premier League opposition?
Below you can see Messi’s top 10 goals according to talkSPORT.com against English sides.
And see a video of his best goals against English sides before the match against Liverpool at the bottom of the page!
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10) vs Chelsea – 2nd goal (March 2018)
It took Messi until his ninth meeting with Chelsea to finally get a goal but on match No.10 against the Blues, the little wizard bagged a brace at the Nou Camp where Barca won 3-0.
Thibaut Courtois should have done better for his first but was powerless for Messi’s second which saw the Argentine show a great turn of pace before drilling the ball through the big Belgian’s legs.
The goal was also Messi’s 100th in the Champions League.
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Messi left the Chelsea defence for dead before smashing the ball home
9) vs Arsenal – 1st goal (April 2010)
Messi well and truly put Arsenal to the sword in Catalonia that night, scoring FOUR goals as Barca ran out 4-1 winners in the quarter-final tie, going through 6-3 on aggregate.
Nicklas Bendtner gave the Gunners a surprise lead but two minutes later Messi decided enough was enough.
He went on one of his trademark runs in from the right, played a slightly fortunate one-two off Mikael Silvestre, but then rifled the ball home into the top corner giving Manuel Almunia no chance.
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This was the first time Messi tore apart an English team…and it wouldn’t be the last!
8) vs Arsenal – 3rd goal (April 2010)
But perhaps an even better strike was his third that night which saw Messi exquisitely chip the ball above the keeper as Barca blew away the Gunners in the first-half.
He was expected to score as he was clean through but the audacity to try and brilliantly execute such a delicate chip in a high stakes game deserves huge credit.
7) vs Arsenal – 1st goal (February 2016)
Again, when you look back at this game, it seems like another routine Messi goal in what was a routine 2-0 win for Barcelona.
However, he produced a subtle piece of skill of taking an extra touch when the ball was played across to him, which eliminated any threat from Gunners keeper Petr Cech, before nonchalantly kicking the ball into an empty net.
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Messi has scored nine goals in six appearances against Arsenal
6) vs Tottenham – 1st goal (October 2018)
Barcelona’s 4-2 triumph over Tottenham at Wembley earlier this season was arguably one of Messi’s best performances ever. And given it’s Messi, you know it’s sensational if it’s one of his best.
He scored just the two goals with his first one an excellent team goal.
Messi started the move with a ball out to Jordi Alba and the left-back’s low cross was brilliantly dummied by Philippe Coutinho AND Suarez before Messi casually tapped the ball into the corner of the net.
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It was a virtuoso performance from Messi at Wembley
5) vs Manchester City (November 2016)
But if you’re looking for sensational team goals, then Messi’s strike against Manchester City in the group stage of the 2016/17 season tops the one against Spurs.
The attack started from just outside Barca’s penalty area where Messi picked up the ball before sending the ball out left to Neymar.
Neymar went down the left, cut inside and played an inch-perfect pass to Messi’s feet and he did the rest with a crisp finish.
This would have finished higher, but City actually fought back to win the match 3-1 so Messi’s strike that night didn’t lead to much.
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Messi has scored six goals in six appearances against the Citizens
4) vs Liverpool – 2nd goal (May 2019)
If you can beat one of the world’s best goalkeepers from 30 yards then it’s some strike and that’s exactly what Messi did when he curled a free-kick beyond Alisson Becker.
How significant it is remains to be seen but it’s likely to help Barca reach the Champions League final.
Again, this could have finished higher but Messi was fortunate to receive the free-kick in the first place as he managed to successfully fool referee Bjorn Kuipers into thinking Fabinho fouled him when it was Messi who was the aggressor in the challenge.
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Messi’s goal left many pundits in bits!
3) vs Manchester United (May 2011)
Barcelona were struggling to break down a stern Manchester United back line in the Champions League final at Wembley until Messi had his say.
He picked up the ball 25 yards out before firing it through a crowd and Edwin van der Sar to put his side 2-1 up en route to a 3-1 triumph.
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Messi has four Champions League winners’ medals to his name
2) vs Manchester United (May 2009)
This was actually Messi’s first goal against a Premier League side and what a time it was to get it… in your first Champions League final appearance!
It was also a header, which Messi doesn’t get too many of due to his 5ft 5in frame but he placed Xavi’s pinpoint cross expertly beyond van der Sar like he’d been heading all his life!
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Messi didn’t feature in Barcelona’s triumph over Arsenal in 2006 so his first final was in 2009
1) vs Arsenal – 1st goal (March 2011)
At No.1 though is Messi’s delightful chip and finish against Arsenal in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Following Arsenal’s heroic 2-1 win in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium, Messi got the breakthrough goal in sumptuous style.
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Messi proved to be a real nemesis of Arsenal over the years
Wojciech Szczesny appeared to have narrowed the angle well but Messi chipped the ball up to himself and above the keeper before crashing the ball home. Coolness personified.
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