Messi vs Levante: Records galore for Barca star after hat-trick against Levante

Messi vs Levante: Lionel Messi broke multiple records as he played a role in all five goals against Levante last night.

Being called the fifth best player in the world hardly does justice to the incredible performances Lionel Messi has been putting for Barcelona this season.

The Argentine was on fire again against Levante, as he scored a hat-trick and assisted the other two goals in an all-round performance, as Barcelona regained the first position in La Liga with a 5-0 win.

Messi broke, and equalled numerous records during the 90 minutes of sheer dominance at Ciutat de Valencia.

So many were the records, and such were their stature, that it seemed rather unprincipled to make just another infographic for mere likes and retweets.

Here is the comprehensive list of the records which Lione Messi broke, or equalled, during the game against Levante.

Messi vs Levante: The game in records –

• • Most goals in Europe’s top-five leagues (2018/19): With a hat-trick against Levante last night, Lionel Messi moved over Genoa’s Krzysztof Piatek for the most number of goals in Europe’s top five leagues this season. (14)
  • Most assists in Europe’s top-five leagues (2018/19): Eden Hazard was at the top of the assist charts, but Messi overtook him last night. The Barca star set Suarez and Gerard Pique up to reach most number of assists in Europe’s top five leagues. (10)
  • Most dribbles/game in Europe’s top five leagues (2018/19): Lionel Messi and dribbling are almost synonymous. With 4.4 dribbles/game, Messi goes ahead of his former Barcelona teammate Neymar.

• Most La Liga wins for Barcelona: As he inspired the side to victory, the Argentine star overtook Xavi for most La Liga wins for Barcelona in the club’s history. (323)
• 50 goals in 2018: Messi reached the 50-goal tally for Barcelona with his hat-trick last night, which ensures his 8th 50+ goal-year for Barcelona in the past 9 years.
• Second-most hat-tricks for a Spanish club: Messi has now recorded 43 hat-tricks for Barcelona across all competitions. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (44) has more for a Spanish club.

Lionel Messi has directly contributed in 24 of Barcelona’s 46 goals in La Liga this season. Since making his debut for the club, Messi has been involved in 46% of Barcelona’s goals, either through goals, or assists.

As Lionel Messi produced another masterclass against Levante last night, Twitter paid respect to his genius: