Published 17:49 IST, November 2nd 2020
Lionel Messi scored his FIRST Champions League goal OTD in 2005, here's what happened next
On this day, in 2005, Lionel Messi scored his first goal for Barcelona in the Champions League and it came in a 5-0 thrashing of Panathinaikos at the Camp Nou.
On this day, in 2005, an 18-year-old Lionel Messi scored his first Champions League goal for Barcelona and it came in a 5-0 win over Panathinaikos at the Camp Nou. The Argentine's first goal for the Spanish giants in the prestigious competition came in just his 17th overall appearance and sxth start for Barcelona. Since then, Messi has broken several records in the Champions League and also won the tournament on four occasions.
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Lionel Messi's first Champions League goal for Barcelona vs Panathinaikos
Lionel Messi was handed his sixth start in the Champions League when Panathinaikos visited the Camp Nou on November 2, 2005, for their Group C encounter, and it took the forward only 34 minutes to score his first goal for Barcelona in the grand tournament.
Barcelona initially took the lead through Mark van Bommel's strike in the first minute before Samuel Eto'o doubled the lead for the hosts. It was then Lionel Messi who pounced on a mistake from the Panathinaikos defence to chip the ball over the goalkeeper and tap it into the net to make it 3-0.
Eto'o went on to score two more goals to make it 5-0. Barcelona eventually went on to win the Champions League that season, beating Arsenal 2-1 in a memorable final. It was also Messi's first UCL title.
Lionel Messi Champions League record: Titles and goals
Ever since scoring his first goal for Barcelona 15 years ago, Lionel Messi has gone on to become one of the greatest players to grace the competition. In total, Messi has now scored 116 goals in the UCL and is the second-highest goalscorer in the competition, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Messi holds the record for the most goals scored by a player in the UCL group stages (70) in his 74 appearances.
Messi is also the only player to score a goal or more in the UCL for 16 consecutive seasons with his first goal coming in 2005. The 33-year-old achieved the feat when he scored in the 5-1 hammering of Ferencvaros on Matchday 1 this season. Messi also scored his second goal in the UCL during the 2-0 win over Juventus last week.
The six-time Ballon d'Or winner has four UCL titles to his name as well and would be hoping to end Barcelona's five-year wait for the European crown.
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Image Credits - UEFA Champions League Twitter
Updated 17:49 IST, November 2nd 2020