4 Records Lionel Messi has set this season so far

#3 Most goals in UEFA Champions League Group Stages

FC Barcelona v PSV - UEFA Champions League Group B

Messi first scored in the Champions League group stages in the 2005/06 season, netting in the 5-0 win over Panathinaikos. Since then, the Argentinian has scored in the group stages of each season without fail. Until the game against PSV on Tuesday night, Messi had scored a total of 60 goals in the group stages of the Champions League.

It was the most goals scored in the group stages, a record he shared with Cristiano Ronaldo. But Messi had chosen the inaugural match of the 2018/19 Champions League to come out on his own.

When he scored that heavenly free kick in the 31st minutes against PSV, Messi went ahead of Ronaldo once again. But he was not done just yet. In the 77th minute, Messi scored another beauty, his 62nd goal in the group stages and by the 87th minute, the Argentinian had scored his 63rd goal of the group stages, becoming the player with the most goals in the UEFA Champions League group stages.

With a fiery start to the new Champions League season, Messi will be looking forward to adding a few more to the tally by the end of the group stages.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Sripad