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Lionel Messi becomes first player to score five goals in single Champions League match

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has become the first ever player to score five goals in a single Champions League match following Wednesday's 7-1 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen at Camp Nou.

Five goals from Messi, plus two from Tello, gave the Catalan club a 10-2 victory on aggregate after a 3-1 win in Leverkusen in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

The Argentina international had scored four goals against Arsenal in 2009-10, equalling the record of the likes of Marco van Basten and Simone Inzaghi, both of whom netted four times in a Champions League match.

Players with the highest number of goals in a single Champions League match:


GoalsPlayer          
CountryDateMatch
5
Lionel Messi ARGMarch 7 2012
Bayer Leverkusen - Barcelona
4
Bafetimbi Gomis FRA
December 7 2011Dinamo Zagreb - Lyon
4
Lionel Messi ARGApril 6 2010Barcelona - Arsenal
4
A. Shevchenko UKRNovember 23 2005
Fenerbahce - AC Milan
4
R. van Nistelrooy NEDNovember 3 2004
Man. United - Sparta Praha
4 Dado Prso CRO
November 5 2003
Monaco - Deportivo la Coruna
4
Simone Inzaghi
ITA
March 14 2000
Lazio - Marseille
4
Marco van Basten NEDNovember 25 1992AC Milan - IFK Goteborg
Messi has now taken his tally to 12 goals in Europe this season, equalling Ruud van Nistelrooy's 2002-03 record for the most number of goals in a single edition of the Champions League.

The diminutive attacker, who is eight goals away from becoming Barcelona's all-time top scorer, is six goals ahead of Mario Gomez in the Champions League scoring charts.

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