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FAB FIVE Lionel Messi added another record to his mounting stack of them when he became the first player in Champions League history to net five goals in a match. He delivered the goal-scoring bonanza against Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Round of 16 matchup that Barcelona won 7–1 and 10–2 in aggregate. Messi scored twice in the first half on Barcelona’s home turf at Camp Nou, at the 25th and 42nd minute; and added goals in the 49th, 58th, and 85th minutes of the second half to send the 75,632 zealous Barcelona fans home happy and with a cool story to share about being there to witness a spectacular slice of soccer history. Messi’s previous-best scoring output had come with a four-goal performance against Arsenal a couple of years earlier. He delivered another fab five performance in 2022, scoring all five of Argentina’s goals in a 5–0 friendly with Estonia.

Lionel Messi became the first player in Champions League history to score five goals in a match against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.

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Greatest Moments