Lionel Messi certainly has a flair for the dramatic.
The Barcelona forward entered Wednesday’s semifinal matchup against Bayern Munich with 75 UEFA Champions League goals, one shy of Cristiano Ronaldo, who tallied his 76th for Real Madrid one day earlier against Juventus.
Messi wasted little time evening things up, rocketing a shot past Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the 77th minute to give his team a one-goal lead.
But that goal is not the focus of this story. This one is.
Even Stephen Curry is impressed.
For context: Messi absolutely embarrassed Bayern defender Jérôme Boateng in the 80th minute to not only clinch a 3-0 win — Neymar added a third in stoppage time on an assist from Messi (who else?) — on soccer’s biggest stage but also break Ronaldo’s record for most goals in Champions League history.
Yeah, that’s pretty good.
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The two sides will face off in the second leg of the semifinal on Tuesday, and if Bayern has any hope of coming back, it had better hope Messi just doesn’t show up.
Thumbnail photo via Manu Fernandez/ The Associated Press
