La Liga: Record-breaking Messi helps Barcelona beat Sociedad
Barcelona ace Lionel Messi celebrated a record-breaking 768th appearance for the club with two goals as the Spanish giants thrashed Real Sociedad 6-1 in La Liga. The 33-year-old forward moved one game clear of former mid-fielder Xavi (767 appearances) as Barca closed the gap on leaders Atletico Madrid to four points. Here are the major details as Messi thrived once again.
Notable feats achieved by Barcelona
As per Opta, Barcelona have scored six goals in an away game in all competitions for the first time since February 2017 against Alaves at Mendizorroza (0-6), under former manager Luis Enrique. Ousmane Dembele has now scored 28 goals for Barca in all competitions. Notably, 14 have been scored with his left foot and 14 with his right.
La Liga: Messi has 31 goal involvements this season
Messi has now been involved in 31 goals this season for Barcelona in La Liga. He has scored 23 goals (highest), besides contributing with eight assists.
Messi races to 663 career Barcelona goals
Messi has now scored 29 goals in all competitions this season in 37 games. The Argentine international has raced to 663 goals in 768 games for the side. Notably, Messi now has 467 La Liga goals in 511 appearances. As per Opta, Messi has been involved in more goals than any other player in the top five European leagues in 2021 (G16 A7).
Sergino Dest scripts these records
Sergiono Dest is the third American player to score in La Liga history, after Jozy Altidore in 2008 (1) and Yunus Musah in 2020 (1), and the first to score a brace. Dest is also the 18th player to score for Barca in La Liga this season, the most different scorers for a team in the top five European leagues in 2020-21.
