Watching Lionel Messi play when he is in such fine touch is surely one of the most beautiful sights in football. When the 29-year-old has the ball at his feet and has his eyes set on nothing but the goal, the Argentine forward is unstoppable. Even when his shot hits the bar it looks glorious while he walks away with a sheepish smile.
It comes as no surprise that he currently leads the Pichichi race in La Liga this season. While Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez have won the last three Pichichi awards – with the Portuguese forward picking up two – Messi looks all set to win his first since 2012/13. That is, of course, provided Luis Suarez does not catch up.
When Barcelona beat Sevilla on Wednesday night, Messi grabbed a brace against the Andalusian club who were looking to find a place at the table reserved for the top three in La Liga. However, the 3-0 win consigned Jorge Sampaoli’s side to fourth spot and three points behind Atletico Madrid (for the time being).
Also read: Barcelona 3-0 Sevilla - 5 Talking Points
It was Messi’s eighth brace of the league campaign and it gave him another milestone. Sevilla officially became his favourite opponent thanks to his 23rd league goal against the side. No team has kicked off more times after a goal from Messi than the Sevillistas.
One would have expected Liga minnows to be at the top of the list but, put simply, attacking teams have given Messi more space to work with and wreak havoc. In all, he has scored more than 20 league goals against three major clubs – Sevilla, Atletico and Valencia.
While he has scored a number of goals against Clasico rivals Real Madrid, most of them have come in other competitions such as the Champions League or other cup competitions. In the league, Messi has found the back of the net against Los Blancos only 14 times.
| # | OPPONENT | GOALS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sevilla | 23 |
| 2 | Atletico Madrid | 22 |
| 3 | Valencia | 21 |
| 4 | Osasuna | 19 |
| 5 | Deportivo | 17 |
| 6 | Rayo Vallecano | 16 |
| 7 | Levante | 15 |
| Espanyol | 15 | |
| 9 | Real Madrid | 14 |
| 10 | Athletic Bilbao | 13 |
At this stage, with eight games to go for the Catalan club, Messi has scored 27 league goals while Suarez is on 24. Real Madrid talisman Ronaldo has a game in hand but he is only on 19 goals.
Surprisingly, Messi has scored 27 league goals without grabbing a single hat-trick so far this season. However, he does have two hat-tricks in the bag in the Champions League having put away three past Celtic and Manchester City in the group stages earlier this season.
Stats via WhoScored
