Lionel Messi reached yet another impressive milestone at Barcelona on Wednesday night, as he equalled Ronald Koeman’s free-kick goal record of 26 against Athletic Club.
The club’s official Twitter account posted the following message:
Minuto 77: ¡Lo ha vuelto a hacer! #Messi ya lleva 26 goles de falta e iguala a Koeman como máximo goleador de falta de la historia azulgrana
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) January 11, 2017
Messi was once again in fantastic form at the Camp Nou, as Barcelona beat Bilbao 3-1 in the second leg of their Copa del Rey tie, progressing 4-3 on aggregate. The big moment came in the 78th minute with the tie level on aggregate, as the 29-year-old stroked home from distance to move level with Koeman in the free-kick charts.
Luis Suarez and Neymar also netted prior to Messi’s strike, meaning the MSN trio have now scored 302 goals between them in the last two years. It’s a stunning achievement from Luis Enrique’s front-men, but the night belongs to the club’s all-time record goalscorer.
Koeman, now in charge of Everton, spent six years at the Camp Nou between 1989 and 1995, scoring 88 goals in all competitions from the middle of the park, but his free-kick precision had been unmatched prior to Wednesday, with 26 of those strikes coming from dead-ball situations.
Messi has scored 13 goals and created 31 chances in 14 La Liga appearances this season, with a shot accuracy of 58%, as Barcelona sit third on 35 points, one behind Sevilla in second and five adrift of leaders Real Madrid.
Next up for them is a home clash with Las Palmas on Saturday, before taking on Eibar at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium.
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