Atlanta United eliminate Messi’s Inter Miami from MLS Cup playoffs
Atlanta United staged a stunning upset in Major Soccer League (MLS) Cup playoffs, eliminating Supporters' Shield winners Inter Miami CF with a 3-2 victory at Chase Stadium.
On 22 November 2014, Barcelona star striker Lionel Messi had surpassed the number of goals netted by Telmo Zarra in La Liga by taking his goals tally to 253.
A hat-trick against Sevilla at the Camp Nou did the trick for Messi, who was trailing by two goals before the match.
The show started in the 21st minute when Messi drew the first blood for Barca, thanks to a free kick. In the 72nd minute, the talisman completed his brace by netting in a pass from Neymar and kept the Catalonians on the edge of their seats. Six minutes to the goal, a clinical finish from the talisman saw him become the leading goalscorer in La Liga.
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Though Messi achieved the historic feat, it was only start of it. He was only 27 years old at the time, and in the following five years, he has continued to add goals at a stratospheric rate. He has scored another 174 times in La Liga since to lift his total up to a gigantic 427.
Now, the Argentine is just 78 goals away from scoring twice to that of Zarra’s previous record.
Here are the teams against which Messi has scored most goals:
Sevilla (29)
Valencia / Atlético Madrid (24)
Espanyol (22)
Levante / Osasuna (21)
Deportivo (20)
Betis (19)
Real Madrid (18)
Here are the top goalscorers in La Liga in last five years:
Leo Messi (174)
Luis Suarez (137)
Cristiano Ronaldo (114)
Antoine Griezmann (95)
Iago Aspas (79)
Karim Benzema (78)
Riding on a hat-trick from Messi, Barcelona beat Celta Vigo 4-1 in their La Liga encounter on November 10. Meanwhile, the Argentine equalled former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally of 34 hat-tricks in the League.
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