Messi tops Ronaldo with new Champions League records
Lionel Messi’s blistering recent form continued on Tuesday night as he fired Paris Saint Germain to a 7-2 win over Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League.
Not only helping his team qualify for the knockout phases of Europe’s premier club competition, Messi also broke records with his two-goal, two-assist display.
His two strikes, scored in the 19th and 44th minutes, meant that he became the first player to reach 80 goals in the Champions League group phases.
This has been done in 85 matches, with Ronaldo trailing behind on 73 goals and having no chance to balance the books given he is currently playing for Manchester United in the second-string Europa League.
2 & 2 - Lionel Messi is the oldest player in UEFA Champions League history to both score twice and assist twice in a game (35 years, 123 days). Multifaceted. pic.twitter.com/9ZHTTGx4IL
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 25, 2022
Furthermore, with his two goals and two assists combined, Messi, aged 35 years and 123 days, became the oldest player in Champions League history to do this in the same game.
Ronaldo achieved the feat in the same match on more than one occasion, but he most recently did it for Real Madrid on November 25, 2015 when aged 30 as he helped them beat Shaktar Donetsk 4-3.
Elsewhere on Matchday 5, Ronaldo’s old club and the holders of the title lost their first match of the season in all competitions when beaten 3-2 by RB Leipzig.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t disappointed with his men, however, and it was far from the biggest embarrassment of the evening which was reserved for his former club, Juventus.
In PSG’s group, Benfica knocked Juve out and most probably sentenced them to the Europa League by beating the Italians 4-3 in Lisbon.
If Maccabi Haifa win against Benfica or get a point, and PSG beat Juventus next time out, the Serie A giants won’t even seal qualification to the Europa League and will finish rock bottom.
In Group G, 2021 finalists Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund were happy with a 0-0 draw to guarantee their places in the next stage.
Over in Austria, Chelsea manager Graham Potter got the job done when the west Londoners won 2-1 away at RB Salzburg.
They clinched qualification, and will also take first place if drawing their next match as AC Milan and Salzburg do battle for the last remaining qualification spot.
