Lionel Messi equals longstanding Barcelona record after UCL win over Lyon

FC Barcelona v Olympique Lyonnais - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Second Leg
FC Barcelona v Olympique Lyonnais - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Second Leg

What's the story?

With Barcelona's thumping win over Lyon in the Champions League on Wednesday night, team captain Lionel Messi has equalled yet another club record to become the player with the joint-most wins in a Blaugrana shirt, tied with former teammate Xavi Hernandez.

In case you didn't know...

Barcelona, who are hoping to achieve a treble this season, registered a 5-1 win over Lyon last night to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Messi notched two goals and two assists a night after his on-field rival Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to equal the Argentine's treble record in the Champions League.

Philippe Coutinho, Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele were also on the scoresheet as Barcelona extended their unbeaten Champions League streak at Camp Nou to 30.

Speaking after the game, Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde said (via Goal), "We are all very focused for this competition and Leo too, he has had an incredible match. It was extraordinary, we dominated the game, we had chances, we scored two goals and we were able to get one more.

"It was a Champions League match and in this type of game, it is normal that we have moments of tension and pressure because they tend to be very fair results. In the Champions League you cannot relax because 2-0 was not a definitive result."

The heart of the matter

The crucial win helped Messi equal Xavi Hernández's record to become the player with the joint-most wins (476) for the club.

According to Barcelona's official website, while Xavi took 767 games to achieve the feat, Messi only took 673 appearances.

The duo played together for eleven seasons during which they won a whopping 24 titles.

What's next?

After the Champions League quarter-final draw on Friday, Barcelona will face Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday night.

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