Lima Gol Lionel Messi Pecahkan Rekor

Messi menjadi pemain pertama di era Champions League yang sanggup lima kali merobek jala lawan dalam satu pertandingan.

Lionel Messi tak henti-hentinya masuk buku rekor. Pemain Terbaik Dunia dalam tiga tahun terakhir itu menghadirkan sejarah anyar di Liga Champions dengan sumbangan lima gol bagi Barcelona saat melumat Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 di second leg 16 besar, Rabu (7/3) malam.

Jumlah itu baru pertama kalinya muncul bagi seorang pesepakbola sejak ajang terelite antarklub Eropa tersebut memasuki era baru pada 1992.

Sebelum La Pulga, terdapat sepuluh pemain yang mampu lima kali merobek jala lawan dalam satu pertandingan, tapi itu terjadi ketika kejuaraan masih bernama European Cup.

Mereka adalah Ove Olsson (Gothenburg, 1959/60), Bent Lofqvist (Boldklubben, '61/62), Jose Altafini (AC Milan, '62/63), Ray Crawford (Ipswich Town, '62/63), Nikola Kotkov (Lokomotiv Sofia, '64/65), Florian Albert (Ferencvaros, '65/66), Paul van Himst (Anderlecht, '66/67), Gerd Muller (Bayern Muenchen, '72/73), Claudio Sulshers (Grasshopers, '78/79), serta Soren Lerby (Ajax Amterdam, '79/80).

Kendati begitu, mayoritas dari sepuluh nama di atas membukukan torehan mereka di putaran kualifikasi, di mana level tim yang berlaga umumnya amat jomplang.

Angka ini sekaligus merupakan penajaman rekor Messi sebelumnya ketika memborong empat gol Barcelona dalam kemenangan 4-1 atas Arsenal di Liga Champions musim 2009/10, yang menyamai catatan sosok beken seperti Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferencs Puskas, dan Marco van Basten. Raihan tiga legenda itu diukir di era European Cup.

Total gol Messi musim ini yang telah menyentuh angka 12 pun sudah sejajar dengan rekor topskorer UCL dalam semusim milik dirinya pada musim lalu dan Ruud van Nistelrooy pada 2002/03.

Tak mustahil rekor pencetak gol terbanyak dalam semusim pun dipecahkan Messi mengingat Barca, yang mendepak Leverkusen dengan agregat 10-2, minimal masih masih akan melakoni dua laga babak perempat-final.

FC Barcelona v Bayer 04 Leverkusen

FC Barcelona - Bayer 04 Leverkusen: The champions are a goal scoring machine (7-1)

Two goals from Messi put Barça 2-0 up in the first half 

In the first 18 minutes after the break, Barça scored another four goals 

Messi completed his full-house in the closing stages, and Bayer 04 scored their consolation goal in injury time

FC Barcelona are already in the quarter-finals of the Champions. The holders walked all over Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the second leg of the last 16 and gave them a 7-1 thrashing which, together with the 3-1 win in the away leg, gave them an overall score of  10-2. The resistance of the Germans, finalists in the competition ten years ago, lasted about 25 minutes, until Leo Messi opened his scoring account.

This Wednesday, the Argentinian broke all his scoring records: he scored five goals, an absolute record in the history of the Champions League. His full-house of goals, 2 before the break, was accompanied by two goals from Tello, who almost scored a hat-trick.

So, FC Barcelona are through to the quarters for the fifth consecutive season, and still hope to become the first holder of the Champions League to defend their crown. Meanwhile, the team are etching exhibitions like this one into the history books.

Bayer 04 come out bravely

The first half at the Camp Nou wasn't anything like the game at the BayArena. Here, as the manager, Robin Dutt, had said, Bayer 04 Leverkusen came out fighting from the opening whistle. The Germans, with nothing to lose, forgot the ultra-defensive approach of the first leg, and pressurised Barça really high up the pitch, closing down the spaces during the first ten minutes. During this time, FC Barcelona didn't even have one shot on goal, which is rare for them.

Messi scores twice

After this initial period, Guardiola's players finally managed to gain possession and push Bayer 04 Leverkusen further back, where their only opportunities would come from counter-attacks. In one of those they conceded the first goal by Messi. The Argentinian received a great pass from Xavi and took advantage of the advanced German defence to beat Leno with a fantastic chip.

After the1-0, which came just before the half hour mark, FC Barcelona had their best minutes. Fluid in the circulation of the ball, they scored the second after Mascherano won the ball and Iniesta made the final pass. ¿And the scorer? Messi again, who left Leno standing like a statue.

Cesc distributes gifts

At the start of the second half with a 5-1 overall score in the tie, one might have thought that FC Barcelona would take their foot off the throttle. Well, no. Barça came back for more and quickly got the goal they deserved. Messi's name was also on the goal, when he scored his hat-trick with another chip over the keeper, this time with his right foot after a Cesc through ball.

Cesc was also the creator of the 4-0, which came moments later, without Iniesta and Xavi on ​​the pitch, as they'd been substituted by Keita and Tello. Tello found himself on the left wing with a direct run on goal and, once in the box, beat Leno with a low shot.

More Messi, more Tello

The way Barça came out after the break promised a lot more. In 18 minutes Barça scored four goals and went an amazing 6-0 up. The fifth goal also carried Messi's seal, who took advantage of a defensive error, and Tello scored the sixth, with the help of Leno, who didn't have much success in the second half. The Camp Nou, now with Muniesa on the pitch, was one big wave of emotion, and for good reason.

Messi Full-House

It was for good reason, precisely, because Barça continued to attack again and again despite the six goals. In the closing stages, Messi became the first player in the history of the Champions League to score five goals in one game, thanks to a well placed shot from the edge of the area. Bayer 04 Leverkusen, emotionally shattered, managed to go down with honour thanks to a last ditch goal from Bellarabi. The champion had walked all over them, are now in quarters, and they want more. They're hungry.