Messi hits 100th goal in the Champions League
Messi hits 100th goal in the Champions League
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Barcelona applaud the star footballer Lionel Messi as "The King" and he handed Chelsea the royal punishment by scoring two dominant goals to reach 100 Champions League goals and end their quarter-final hopes.

After waves a banner showing the words "God Save The King" before kick-off, Barca's fans were celebrating after just 129 seconds at the Camp Nou as Messi found the net before Chelsea had even made a pass. He then teed up Ousmane Dembele to double Barca's lead in the second leg of the last-16 clash before registering a century of Champions League goals on his 123rd appearance to complete a 3-0 victory, 4-1 on aggregate.

Lionel Messi becomes only the second player to reach the milestone in Europe's premier tournament, following Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 117 goals in 152 games in the Champion League. "He knows in certain moments the stars have to come out," Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. "We enjoy him. We're lucky enough to be seeing something that will go down in history."

It also caps a remarkable five days for the 30-year-old, who sat out Saturday's La Liga win over Malaga to attend to the birth of his third child. Chelsea, in touch after the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, were therefore unfortunate enough to encounter the striker fresh, free and at his frighteningly brilliant best. At the finish, Conte left the field with his arm around the forward, perhaps with nothing to add but congratulations.

 

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