Lionel Messi scores massive 700th career goal with cheeky panenka vs Atletico; watch video

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi reached another career milestone even though his club faltered yet again in LaLiga. The Argentine maestro bagged his 700th career goal on Tuesday night (Wednesday IST) after he scored a cheeky panenka against Atletico Madrid. Lionel Messi's strike from the spot just minutes after the second half started. His goal handed Barcelona the advantage in the tie, but Atletico found a way back to the game to earn a well-deserved draw. 

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Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid highlights: Lionel Messi 700 goals

Tuesday night's LaLiga game was quite a back-and-forth affair as Barcelona took the lead twice only to see Atletico claw their way back in the match. Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa scored an unfortunate own goal to give Barcelona the lead. Costa then went onto fluff his line from the spot. However, the penalty was retaken after VAR to spotted Marc-Andre ter Stegen straying off his line. This time, Saul Niguez stepped up to calmly dispatch the ball into the back of the net to level the game.

Early in the second half, Barcelona were awarded a penalty of their own after Filipe brought down a marauding Nelson Semedo in the box. Naturally, Lionel Messi stepped up to take the decisive penalty. Despite the nerves being high as ever, the diminutive forward showed composure as he went for a cheeky panenka down the middle, forcing Jan Oblak to an early dive. With the ball in the back of the net, Barcelona had restored their lead while their captain was celebrating his career milestone.

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Lionel Messi 700 goals: 630 for Barca, 70 for La Albiceleste

Lionel Messi is just the seventh player in history to reach score 700 career goals. Messi has scored 630 of them in 724 games for Barcelona, while he found the net 70 times for Argentina in 138 appearances. He joins his arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, in the 700 goals club. Cristiano Ronaldo achieved the milestone in October 2019 when he scored for Portugal during their 1-2 loss to Ukraine. 

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Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid highlights, LaLiga standings

Barcelona's lead, however, did not last long as a third penalty was awarded in the game when Nelson Semedo turned hero to villain and fouled Yannick Carrasco in the box. Saul Niguez stepped up for the second time and just managed to squeeze his shot through the hands of Ter Stegen. Despite having the bulk of the possession, Barcelona failed to force a winner, falling further behind Real Madrid in the race for the LaLiga title. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.

The draw means, Barcelona failed to close the gap on Real Madrid, who can now go four points clear of the Catalan side if they win their game against Getafe on Thursday night (Friday IST). 

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(Image Credits: LaLiga Twitter Handle)