15.09.2010 12:33

Messi overtakes Rivaldo in the Champions League

Jordi Clos

Thanks to his two goals against Panathinaikos on Tuesday evening, Leo Messi is now Barça’s highest ever goal scorer in the Champions League and is well on the way to finish as the CL’s top scorer for three consecutive seasons.

The 5-1 win against Panathinaikos was a triumph for the whole team but there’s no doubt that Leo Messi stood out from the rest. He scored two fantastic goals – the second in particular a lightening fast close passing move with Xavi and Pedro – and gave the final pass for Alves to score the fifth. In addition, he hit the woodwork twice and had his penalty kick saved by Tzorvas.

Messi overtakes Rivaldo

Messi now leads the ranking of Barça goal scorers in the Champions League with 27, overtaking the Brazilian Rivaldo (25). Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert is third with 21. Rivaldo scored his 25 goals in 45 matches, the same as Messi while Kluivert needed 52 matches.

Nearing van Nistelrooy’s record

The 23-year-old Argentine forward is now the 12th highest scorer in the history of the Champions League and must be one of the favourites to finish this season’s tournament as top scorer, which would make it three seasons in a row. Ruud van Nistelrooy then with Manchester United, is the only player to have finished as top scorer in the Champions League three times.