Watch: Messi completes 600 goals for Barca with super free-kick in Champions League tie against Liverpool
Lionel Messi
Barcelona's Argentine star Lionel Messi struck twice to secure a convincing 3-0 victory for the Catalan side in their UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Liverpool at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
With the two goals, Messi completed a tally of 600 goals for his senior club.
Messi, who is currently La Liga's Pichichi top scorer and the European Golden Boot leader, has taken 683 matches to reach the new mark (0.88 goals per match).
He made the record on a very special day, it was the 14th anniversary of his first official goal for the Barcelona.
The Argentine's milestone goal was a moment of brilliance as he curled a dazzling free kick into the top corner from distance to add gloss to a scoreline that did not reflect the balance of play.
Besides scoring, Messi created two chances for Philippe Coutinho, who shot directly into the hands of Liverpool keeper Alisson on the first occasion before missing the target on the second.
Watch Messi's magnificent free-kick:
Here's Messi's other goal, watch:
The Reds were better than the score showed, but will need some magic next week at Anfield to give themselves a chance at victory in Europe's elite club competition a year after losing in the final to Real Madrid.
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For Barca, Wednesday night's contest in front of more than 98,000 people at Camp Nou was a giant step toward reaching the final for the first time since they last hoisted the Champions League trophy in 2015.
The visitors deployed their trademark high press and the home side struggled on the attack for the opening 15 minutes until Messi dropped back toward midfield to better enable the crucial linkups.