Lionel Messi continues to break records. Even at the age of 32, the Argentine continues to reach unprecedented heights and set a new record at the weekend.
Messi scored three goals - two from free kicks and one from the penalty spot - in Barcelona's emphatic 4-1 win at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday.
"It is impossible not to depend on Messi", said the coach of Barcelona, Ernesto Valverde, after the match. "He illuminates everything. It's one thing we have in our favor and our rivals fear us because of it."
With three goals scored on Saturday, Messi has reached the figure of 40 goals for country and club this year.
It is the 11th year in a row that the striker has reached this figure.
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Messi has reached the quota of 650 goals for Barcelona in all competitions
Cristiano Ronaldo, who is constantly compared to Messi who is the best in the world of football, has scored at least 40 goals in every year since 2010, writes "Daily Mail", transmits "Koha Ditore".
However, he only has 29 goals in 2019, so he may struggle to reach the 40-goal mark for the tenth year in a row.
With the victory, Barcelona has taken the lead in La Liga with 25 points from 12 games, as many as Real Madrid, which occupies the second place. But Barcelona has a better goal.
Messi started the series of goals by scoring from the penalty spot, after Joseph Aidoo had played with his hand in the area. Celta Vigo equalized with a Lucas Olaza free-kick before Messi put Barcelona ahead just before the break with a free-kick. He also scored his second goal from a free kick of the match, at the beginning of the second half, while Sergio Busquets scored the last goal for the Catalan team.
Messi has equaled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 34 "hat-tricks" scored in La Liga. At the same time, he reached the figure of 52 goals from free throws.
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Messi is the fourth player in the history of La Liga to score goals in 17 consecutive editions
"With Leo, everything is possible. He has mastered the execution of free throws to perfection. Because of this, the opponents do not dare to make impermissible interventions in the vicinity of their area. If they do this, then we look to benefit", said Valverde.
Barcelona has recovered from the defeat suffered in La Liga by Levante last weekend, 3:1.
"After that loss, it's good that we won. We had a damaging loss and we needed the victory," added Valverde.
