Barcelona - Barcelona forward Lionel Messi reached another milestone
in his incredible career on Wednesday when he broke Gerd Mueller's
39-year-old record of 67 goals in a season for a European top-flight
club.
The Argentine World Player of the Year netted twice from
the penalty spot and once from open play to help Barca to a 4-1 win at
home to Malaga, his 44th, 45th and 46th La Liga goals of the campaign
taking his total in all competitions to 68.
Mueller set the
record playing for Bayern Munich in the 1972-73 season and Messi has
three more matches - two in La Liga and the King's Cup final - in which
to add to his tally.
Messi's third of the night at a festive Nou
Camp showcased his dazzling skills as he raced clear on to Andres
Iniesta's pass, dinked the ball over the onrushing Carlos Kameni and
tapped the ball into the empty net.
Clutching the match ball and
with a typically shy expression on his face, he was congratulated by his
team-mates as he strolled off the pitch at the end.
Still only
24, Messi is already Barca's leading scorer in official games with 248
goals, beating Cesar Rodriguez's 60-year-old record of 232 in March when
he also became the first player to score five in a Champions League
match.
He netted his first goal for the Catalan club on May 1,
2005 aged 17 years, 10 months and seven days in a La Liga game against
Albacete at the Nou Camp after coming through the youth system with
contemporaries Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique.
This season, as
well as his La Liga tally, he has scored 14 goals in the Champions
League, two in the King's Cup, three in the Spanish Super Cup, one in
the European Super Cup and two at the Club World Cup.
He has 11
more than Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 43 in La Liga,
10 in the Champions League, three in the King's Cup and one in the
Spanish Super Cup.
- Reuters