- Man City loses away against Sporting Lisbon.
- Champions league knock out week: Arsenal out, Bayern leverkusen and Lyon out. Barcelona, APOEL and Ac Milan in quarters.
- Chelsea vs Napoli (1-3 aggregate), Real Madrid vs Zenit (1-1 aggregate).
- Dominican male club team at home against Chico State for their return league.
Messi's profile: 228 goals, 93 assists, 18 trophies
The brilliant Argentine smashed more records on Wednesday as he hit five in the 7-1 Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen at Camp Nou. Goal.com examines his superb stats
3 - Messi has now scored three hat tricks in the Champions League, equaling a record held by Filippo Inzaghi. Only three Barcelona players (Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o) had previously hit hat tricks in the continental competition. He also became the first player to score two hat tricks in one season in the Champions League.
3 - The Argentine won his third Ballon d'Or trophy earlier this year to draw level with previous three-time winners Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten. And he's still just 24.
4 - Messi has finished as top scorer in the Champions League on three occasions (the last three years) and is on course to lead the competition's scoring charts for a fourth consecutive year to level with Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller as the only man to do so on four occasions in European Cup/Champions League history. The German tied at the top twice, however, while Messi has finished as top scorer outright for the last three years and looks set to do so again this year.
5 - The Argentine is the first player in Champions League history to score five goals in a single match, the first in European Cup football since Ajax's Soren Lerby in 1979 and the first Barcelona player to net five since Zaldua in 1965.
6 - The Rosario-born forward has netted in six different competitions for Barca this season - La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Supercopa, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup and the Champions League - to equal the feat set by teammate Pedro in 2009.
10 - Goal.com's Player Rating for the Argentine after his stunning show against Leverkusen - a perfect 10.
12 - Messi has now taken his tally to 12 goals in Europe this term, equaling his own total from 2010-11 and drawing level with Ruud van Nistelrooy's 2002-03 record for the most number of goals in a single edition of the Champions League. And he now has up to five more games to set a new record.
18 - Since making his debut at the Catalan club in 2005, Messi has won 18 trophies with the Camp Nou outfit.
22 - Following his hat trick against Switzerland last week, Messi now has 22 goals for Argentina in 67 games. Diego Maradona, incidentally, netted 34 in 91 internationals for the Albiceleste.
24 - In the first leg at Leverkusen, Messi's goal saw him become the record scorer in Champions League knockout games with 19. Last night's five strikes saw that mark rise to 24.
49 - The Argentine raised his Champions League tally to 49, surpassing Alessandro Del Piero (44), Filippo Inzaghi (46), Eusebio (47) and Andriy Shevchenko (48) in the all-time list of scorers for the CL and European Cup. His five goals also saw him draw level with Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano in joint-fourth place, behind only Thierry Henry (51), Van Nistelrooy (54) and Raul (71).
53 - Messi's season-best total for Barcelona is the 53 he netted last season to tie with Madrid's
Cristiano Ronaldo in all competitions. He also has 53 goals for club and country so far this term, 48 of them for Barcelona with a potential 19 club games still to play.
93 - The Argentine has 93 assists for the Catalan club, including 73 in the last four seasons and 20 already this term.
188 - Since Pep Guardiola took over as coach at Barca, Messi has netted an incredible 188 goals in 201 official matches.
228 - In total, the Argentine now has 228 goals for the Catalan club, leaving him just seven short of the all-time Barca record of 235, held by Cesar Rodriguez.
Neymar: I hope to reach Messi's level one day
The 20-year-old impressed with a magnificent hat trick against Internacional earlier this week in the Libertadores, and dreams of reaching the Blaugrana attacker's level.
The Santos attacker netted a hat trick in his side's 3-1 Copa Libertadores win against Internacional shortly after Messi's quintet of goals against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, but Neymar is not interested in comparisons with the Argentine.
"This so called rivalry between Messi and me does not exist. He is on another level. I have already said before that he is the best in the world. There's no doubt about that," Neymar was quoted as saying by ESPN.
"I consider myself to be a fan of Messi, and hope that he puts in many more performances like that. I am doing whatever I can to one day reach the same level. He is already in full swing, and I hope to achieve the same."
Nike Soccer - The Chance is Back
Nike and Pep Guardiola are searching for the next wave of hungry young footballers. An army of Nike scouts is coming to 50 countries to find 100 potential champs.
Berbatov: Not playing for Manchester United is 'painful'
The 31-year-old, signed for 30 million pounds in 2008, has found himself on the fringes this season but is still focused on doing what he can to help United win the title.
Rooney insists Manchester United silverware takes priority over goals
The Red Devils talisman has stated that picking up medals is more important than individual accomplishments after his double against West Brom sent the team to the top of the table
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson watches Hazard on scouting trip in France
The Scot was in attendance as Lille faced Lyon in Ligue 1 on Saturday evening, and was believed to be scouting the Belgian who has expressed an interest in moving to England.
AVB Sacking after 9 months - Contract termination costs 68million pounds.
John Terry positive
The Blues' skipper refutes suggestions that the club’s senior squad members were to blame for the departure of hapless former manager Andre Villas-Boas after only nine months
Di Matteo: Everyone at Chelsea is behind me
After Andre Villas-Boas' recent departure, the Portuguese's ex-assistant has now been given a second crack at Premier League management and insists that there will be no rifts.
Chelsea warned leaving Stamford Bridge would cost far more than staying
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has thrown its support behind the Blues increasing their stadium’s capacity rather than building a new ground elsewhere in west London
Wenger: England speculation will continue despite Premier League warning
The Arsenal boss insisted he was unaware of a gagging order placed on manager's over discussing the Three Lions hot seat, but believes it will not halt the rumor mill.
"I believe everybody is free to talk about the England job," Wenger told reporters. "In fact I spoke many times about it so I have done my sins."
"It is inevitable that if you have nobody in place, the press will be worried and ask questions about it."
Suarez and Cavani open to Paris Saint-Germain switch
The presence of national team captain Diego Lugano at the Parc des Princes club is a factor that attracts the Uruguayan pair to the French outfit, both have confessed
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