PSG's Lionel Messi edges past Cristiano Ronaldo with new UEFA Champions League record

Paris Saint-Germain maintained unbeaten run to ir UEFA Champions League campaign after a come from behind 3-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa at Sammy Ofer Stium on Wednesday.  mighty trio of Kylian Mbappe, Messi and Neymar continued ir sparkling form to propel a dominant PSG to easy win over Israeli champions.

UEFA Champions League: Messi outshines Ronaldo

By scoring opening goal for PSG, Lionel Messi smashed Cristiano Ronaldo's record of scoring against 38 teams in UEFA Champions League. After drawing a blank against Juventus last Tuesday, Argentine skipper has now scored against 39 teams in Europe's elite competition. 

As it stands out, Messi has scored against teams from 19 different nations in Champions League. ex-Barcelona forward also scripted a Champions League history by scoring for 18th consecutive season.

Messi now has 126 Champions League goals under his belt. At moment, Cristiano Ronaldo holds record for most goals in competition. Portuguese legend more than 130 goals to his name in Champions League. Messi, a four-time Champions League winner, will have his sights set on all-time top scorer record. 

Besides Messi, Kylian Mbappe also created a record for himself by becoming joint-highest scorer for club alongside Edinson Cavani. French forward has scored 30 goals in 46 UEFA Champions League fixtures for PSG. Mbappe has scored 181 goals in overall 225 matches for PSG. 23-year-old has 10 goals for PSG in all competitions this season. 

PSG vs Maccabi Haifa match highlights

PSG fell behind to Maccabi Haifa after host took le in 24th minute of game after Tjaronn Chery volleyed ball into back of net. However, PSG me ir comeback starting with Lionel Messi's goal in 37th minute following a brilliant assist from Kylian Mbappe.

Messi’s returned favour with an assist to Mbappe who ran down left-hand side and clipped ball into bottom right corner in th 69th minute. Neymar scored third goal in 88th minute after he latched onto Marco Verratti’s lofted pass from midfield. Brazilian controlled ball on his right thigh and drilled it into goal to end his barren run in Champions League dating back to December 2020.