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Messi breaches 200th goal as Barca advance

Comment: 0 November 2nd, 2011 by: admin

TOUGH luck for Viktoria Plzen, they found Lionel Messi in one of his scoring best right at their own turf.

The Argentine genius was on target anew as he banged in a hat-trick to spearhead Barcelona’s 4-0 hammering of the Czech Republic side as the Catalans reached the knockout stage of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Messi broke the 200-goal barrier for his career with his second straight hat-trick and Barca celebrated their ninth straight shutout with the win.

The scoring floodgates opened for Messi when he was brought down by Plzen defender Marian Cisovsky and he calmly made the ensuing penalty shot in the 24th minute.

Messi masterfully converted his second in the first-half injury time after receiving a one-touch pass from Adriano, hitting a low shot past goalkeeper Roman Pavlik.

After Cesc Fabregas made it 3-0 with a header in the 72nd, Messi struck again in injury time after collecting a backheel pass from Gerard Pique en route to his 14th career hat- trick, fourth of the season and second in the Champions League.

AC Milan also entered the knockout phase after a 1-1 draw at BATE Borisov, but Arsenal and Chelsea were held to standoffs delaying their advance. The Gunners and the Blues will now have to rebound in final two games if they wish to make it to the next stage.

Barca, who now outscored opponents 26-0 in their last nine games, are currently atop Group H with 10 points followed by Milan whose draw in Belarus was enough for them to progress.

Messi said he was happy not just for the result but how they played. “It’s not easy to come to a stadium like this and play against the pressure they showed, they are a physical team.’’

The Argentine wonder has been on a scoring slump of late and only got back into the groove after three matches when he scored a hat-trick during Barca’s 5-0 annihilation of Mallorca on Saturday in the La Liga.

Messi also reiterated that helping the team achieve positive results, and not scoring, is his main objective.
The Tuesday game was the 200th for Barca coach Pep Guardiola who now has a record of 144 wins, 39 draws and 17 losses for the squad.
Barca’s next outing is on Nov. 23 when they tackle Milan, while Plzen visit BATE.

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