Lionel Messi is considered one of the best football players in the world today. Messi’s exquisite dribbling, effortless ball control and superb speed have earned him the moniker ‘Atomic Flea’.
The champion player recently scored the 500th goal of his career. As a tribute, here’s a look at some of his finest goals.
1. Barcelona vs Seville, 2005
Messi’s first official goal for Barcelona came at a time when he was brought in as a substitute at the end of the second half. A nice assist by Ronaldinho helped Messi to just tap the ball over the keeper’s head.
2. Barcelona vs Getafe, 2007
At the age of 19, Messi proved to the world that he was a force to be reckoned with. Dodging past four defenders and the goalkeeper, this has to count among Messi’s most stupendous goals. The awestruck commentator said, “This is one of the greatest goals I’ve seen at Camp Nou”.
3. Barcelona vs Manchester United, 2009
The diminutive figure proved that size doesn’t matter, with a screamer of a header. The goal effectively ended United’s chance of winning the Champions League.
4. Barcelona vs Zaragoza, 2010
This is another gem from Lionel Messi and as always, you’re left flabbergasted. Dribbling his way past not one, not two, but three defenders, his dancing feet outclassed Zaragoza and mesmerised the spectators.
5. Barcelona vs Real Madrid, 2011
In an intense Champions League semi-final, Messi scored one of the finest goals of the season, again displaying brilliant individual skill to leave the goalkeeper Iker Casillas stunned.
6. Barcelona vs Deportivo La Coruna, 2012
In this thrilling game, Messi scored a superb hat-trick against Deportivo. This particular strike was an excellent demonstration of his powerful left foot.
7. Argentina vs Brazil, 2012
Against arch-rivals Brazil, Messi displayed superb speed and poise to score an excellent hat-trick for his team. Argentina ended up winning the match 4-3 courtesy his brilliance.
8. Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao, 2015
The 2015 Copa del Ray final was lit up by Messi’s magnificent goal. Skillfully going past four of Bilbao’s defenders, this mercurial man finished off the run with a perfect left-foot shot into the goal. Rightly put by the commentators, “I don’t think we’re ever going to see anyone like Lionel Messi again”.
9. Barcelona vs Villareal, 2017
You can always count on Messi to come up with something special. In this La Liga match, Villareal were one goal up and in the 89th minute, a sublime free-kick from Messi equalised the score. Such was the precision with which the ball was deposited in the top left corner of the goal that the goalie didn’t even have time to react.