13 players who were given perfect 10/10 ratings by L'Equipe

Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. have both received 10/10 ratings from L'Equipe
Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. have both received 10/10 ratings from L'Equipe

#9 Lionel Messi vs Barcelona, 2010 and Lionel Messi vs Bayer Leverkusen, 2012

Barcelona v Arsenal - UEFA Champions League
Barcelona v Arsenal - UEFA Champions League

Okay, we're in familiar territory now. Of course, Lionel Messi was going to be amongst the players that L'Equipe have given a 10/10 rating to.

He produced an otherworldly performance for Barcelona against Arsenal in the 2010 UEFA Champions League. Messi scored four goal for the Catalans as they beat the Gunners 4-1.

He was unstoppable on the night and helped Barcelona record a 6-3 win on aggregate with his masterful performance.

FC Barcelona v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - UEFA Champions League Round of 16
FC Barcelona v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - UEFA Champions League Round of 16

Lionel Messi earned his second 10/10 performance when he scored five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in 2012. The Argentinian international helped Barcelona thrash the Bundesliga outfit 7-1 on the night.

He was at the peak of his powers and was taking defenders on and beating them with ease. He scooped the ball over the goalkeeper, curled one into the top bin, dinked over the keeper again, latched on to a rebound and ended the night with a neat finish from the edge of the area.

Messi is the only player to have received two 10/10 ratings in the history of L'Equipe.

#8 Robert Lewandowski vs Real Madrid, 2013

Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League Semi Final: Second Leg
Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund - UEFA Champions League Semi Final: Second Leg

Robert Lewandowski became the first player to score a Champions League hat-trick against Real Madrid in 2013. He turned in his finest performance in a Borussia Dortmund shirt as he scored four goals in their 4-1 win over Los Blancos in the first leg of the semi-final.

Jurgen Klopp, who was Borussia Dortmund coach at the time, joked:

"That was like Robin Hood taking from the rich."

#7 Carlos Eduardo vs Guingamp, 2014

Carlos Eduardo celebrates after scoring five goals against Guingamp
Carlos Eduardo celebrates after scoring five goals against Guingamp

Carlos Eduardo has been a journeyman throughout and his career has been very so-so. Porto and Nice are the most high-profile clubs that the Brazilian has played for. Eduardo was on loan at Nice from Porto in 2014 when he scored a whopping five goals against Guingamp.

He scored a first-half hat-trick and followed it up by banging in two more in the second half. Eduardo earned the distinction of being one of the very few players to have received a 10/10 rating from L'Equipe that night.

#6 Neymar Jr. vs Dijon, 2018

Neymar celebrates one of his goals in PSG's 8-0 win over Dijon
Neymar celebrates one of his goals in PSG's 8-0 win over Dijon

The game where Neymar Jr. got his 10/10 rating from L'Equipe is more famous for the wrong reasons. The Brazilian international was booed by the home support for trying to take the ball from Edinson Cavani for a last-minute penalty.

Neymar had scored four goals and provided two assists as PSG beat Dijon 8-0 on the night. It might have been greedy, but it's just not fair to boo a player who has made six direct goal contributions in a game, is it?

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