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What’s the story?
Barcelona ace Lionel Messi has beaten Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo to win the UEFA.com Goal of the Season vote. Messi’s stunning free-kick against Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Champions League earned the most votes, while Ronaldo’s superb volley against Manchester United was voted second.
In case you didn’t know...
Messi enjoyed a brilliant last season in terms of personal achievements. Despite netting 51 goals for Barcelona in the 2018-19 campaign, Messi and the Catalan giants' season ended on a sour note. The Argentine failed to make an impact in the business-end of last season as Barcelona bowed out of the Champions League semi-finals at the hands of Liverpool. The Spanish champions also lost to Valencia in the Copa del Rey final.
Similarly, Ronaldo’s individual brilliance proved to be insufficient for Juventus to break their Champions League hoodoo. The Italian champions were eliminated from the quarter-finals by Ajax. Despite scoring in both legs of the quarter-final tie, Juventus crashed out of the continental tournament.
However, both Messi and Ronaldo have been nominated in UEFA’s Champions League positional awards. Apart from the duo, Sadio Mane of Liverpool has made it to the three-man shortlist for the Best Forward award for the 2018-19 Champions League season.
The heart of the matter
UEFA have recently announced that Messi’s sensational free kick in the first leg of Barcelona's Champions League semi-final tie against Liverpool has earned the maximum votes to win the UEFA.com goal of the season award.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s beautifully timed volley against Manchester United in group stages of the Champions League has earned the second-highest votes.
Danilo Pereira's curler for Portugal against Serbia in the European Qualifiers has been voted third.
Messi has now won the UEFA.com Goal of the Season award for a record third time. Mario Mandzukic and Cristiano Ronaldo are tied on one each after winning the award in 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively.
What’s next?
Messi, who is currently recovering from a calf injury, is a doubt for Barcelona’s La Liga opener against Athletic Bilbao on 16th August.
