Another milestone for Lionel Messi means there’s no real need to spend a few opening lines eulogising about his brilliance – we already know he’s quite good…
Barcelona present Lionel Messi with a shirt celebrating his 400 goals for the club. pic.twitter.com/DAZfw7yxKz
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) April 18, 2015
Instead, let’s cut to the chase and use it as an opportunity to skim through the Argentine’s 400 Barca goals, revisiting some of his more memorable strikes…
Arsenal, 2010
Trailing Arsenal to a goal from fellow footballing great, Niklas Bendtner, Messi set about a one man demolition job. Lashing home the first of his four-goal haul was a decent enough effort, but the nonchalant, measured-to-perfection chip for his third (just after 1:30 in the video) typified the apparent ease with which Messi ripped Arsenal to pieces…
Atletico Madrid, 2012
Catching Thibaut Courtois off guard was something Messi did a good few years before Charlie Adam. While the Belgian organised an Atletico Madrid wall, Messi showcased his set piece ability by looping one into the top corner. And if seeing Messi opportunist strike doesn’t really take your fancy, this video is worth a watch purely for the ridiculous commentary…
https://youtu.be/Ui1DdvyAH6A
Arsenal, 2011
A year after hitting four past the Gunners, Messi weighed in with a couple more to send them out of Europe again. For his first, he narrowly beats the offside trap, takes the ball on the oustide of his left foot before dinking it over an approaching Almunia and smashing into the goal from close range…
https://youtu.be/N42dkvKrSj8
Getafe, 2007
With 399 others to choose from, to say this is his finest goal in a Barca shirt will understandably spark some debate… but it certainly takes some beating. Aged just 19 at the time, Messi picks up the ball within his own half and just runs. Taking on and beating a silly number of players before slotting home, there are eerie similarities with a goal one of Messi’s countrymen once scored against England…
https://youtu.be/pHUb4y7Txo0
Manchester United, 2009
By no means as aesthetically pleasing as some of the others on our list, but a vital goal nonetheless. Somehow rising above comparative giants Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, Messi’s header sealed victory for Barca in the 2009 Champions League Final…
Real Madrid, 2011
On the way to another Champions League conquest over United, Messi and co had to negotiate a couple of games against arch-rivals Real Madrid. To date, Messi has already bagged over twenty goals in El Clasico fixtures, but with the Champions League factor attached to this one, it is perhaps his most significant to date…
