Great seasonil 50 goal adikkumoOriginally Posted by vishnu vardhan
Messi hits 60-goal mark in Barcelona romp
Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring against Real Zaragoza during the La Liga match at La Romareda Stadium in Zaragoza, Spain. (AP Photo)
MADRID: Lionel Messi hit a double to take his season's goal tally to 60 as Barcelona came from behind to beat 10-man Zaragoza 4-1 and move within three points of leaders Real Madrid.
Barca are on a nine-match winning streak which has put the pressure on Real who have a tough April and face third-placed Valencia on Sunday.
After that comes the Madrid derby against Atletico and the El Clasico showdown with Barca also to feature.
Relegation-haunted Zaragoza took advantage of a slow start from Barca with Carlos Aranda heading them in front in the 30th minute after earlier missing a penalty.
Carles Puyol brought Barca back on level terms six minutes later and then Messi hit a double towards the end of either half to continue his prolific run which has seen him go one ahead of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in the league with 38.
In injury time Messi set up Pedro Rodriguez for the fourth.
Zaragoza's hopes of a comeback had been hit a minute before half time with the dismissal of Abraham Minero.
It was a new-look Barca side to that which beat AC Milan to qualify for the Champions League semi-finals in midweek with Gerard Pique missing through injury while Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets were rested.
That meant Alexis Sanchez and Pedro Rodriguez got a chance in attack.
Zaragoza, on a high after three straight wins saw them move off the bottom of the table, took the game to the champions.
Puyol and Javier Mascherano were struggling against the imposing Aranda who had his first chance after five minutes when he just failed to connect with a cross from Ruben Micael.
Again Aranda was heavily involved as Zaragoza won a penalty after 23 minutes.
He latched onto a cross from Ivan Obradovic with his effort coming back off the post, and then keeper Victor Valdes failed to get to the ball before Angel Lafita brought him down.
Valdes redeemed himself though by parrying a weak spot-kick from Aranda.
Barca were slowly getting into the game when Zaragoza took the lead through Aranda after a through ball by Pablo Alvarez.
Valdes stood firm to deny Aranda's initial strike but the rebound fell to the Zaragoza striker who headed in from close range.
That was the spur that Barca needed and at the other end Alexis had a shot from close range blocked by keeper Roberto Jimenez.
From the resulting corner, the visitors equalised after a howler from the shot stopper.
Roberto dropped the cross at the feet of Puyol who slotted home gratefully.
Minutes later, Messi turned the game on its head making easy work of going round defender Paulo Da Silva before firing into the roof of the net.
Before half-time Zaragoza were reduced to 10 men following the expulsion of Abraham for a second yellow card offence on Alexis but the home side came out fighting after the break.
They pressed Barca back and Obradovic missed an excellent chance to equalise one-on-one with the keeper, but gradually the Catalan side took control again as the Zaragoza players tired.
Sanchez won a penalty five minutes from the end after a foul by Javier Peredes and Messi made no mistake from 12 yards.
In stoppage time Pedro finished off a pass from Messi to give them an emphatic scoreline they perhaps didn't deserve.
Earlier Miguel Perez 'Michu' scored a hat-trick as Rayo Vallecano took a step closer to safety with a 6-0 thrashing of Osasuna.
Diego Costa, Emiliano Armenteros and Roberto Triguero 'Tito' were also on target and the visitors have now conceded eleven goals in two matches following their 5-1 defeat by Real Madrid last weekend.
Getafe added to bottom side Sporting Gijon's problems with a 2-0 win thanks to goals for Nicolas Miku and Diego Castro while Espanyol came from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Real Sociedad.
Messi first since Mueller to net 60 goals
MADRID: Barcelona's Lionel Messi reached another milestone in his amazing career on Saturday when he became the first player to score 60 goals in a season in European top-flight soccer in almost 40 years.
The Argentine World Player of the Year netted twice in a 4-1 victory at Real Zaragoza to notch up 38 La Liga goals in the campaign and his 60th in all competitions.
Gerd Mueller was the last player to achieve the feat on the way to scoring 67 goals for Bayern Munich in the 1972-73 season and Messi has at least 10 more matches in which to break the German's record.
Messi put Barca 2-1 ahead with a powerful strike into the roof of the net shortly before halftime and also netted from the penalty spot in the closing stages at the Romareda.
Still only 24, he is already Barca's leading scorer in official games with 240 goals, beating Cesar Rodriguez's 60-year-old record of 232 last month when he also became the first player to score five in a Champions League match.
Messi netted his first goal for the Catalan club on May 1, 2005 aged 17 years, 10 months and seven days in a La Liga game against Albacete at the Nou Camp after coming through the youth system with contemporaries Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique.
This season, as well as his La Liga tally, Messi has 14 goals in the Champions League, two in the King's Cup, three in the Spanish Super Cup, one in the European Super Cup and has also scored two at the Club World Cup.
He has 11 more goals than Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 37 in La Liga, eight in the Champions League, three in the King's Cup and one in the Spanish Super Cup.
Other players who have scored 60 or more goals in a season include Fernc Deak, who netted 66 for Hungarian club Szentlorinc in 1945-46, Henk Groot, who struck 64 times for Ajax Amsterdam in 1960-61 and Dixie Dean, who got 63 for Everton in 1927-28.
The Sunday TOI sport page had an article titled 'The Great Duel' stating that the Liga is no longer just a two club race but a two-player feud as to who would score more goals referring to Messi and Ronaldo. In the article there's a description of Messi which goes like this: 'Messi's wonderful left-foot, close control, dribbling skills, positional awareness and the insurmountable work-rate make him a real nightmare for rivals. Not for nothing, he is feted as the best on the planet.'
sadhayailadiladila...bgg
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlFV1AY42-Q]Levante Vs FC Barcelona 1-2 All Highlights And Goals HD [Apr.14 2012] - YouTube[/ame]
Messi41, ronaldo 41 kattakku katta compitation
Messi, Ronaldo set La Liga scoring record of 41 goals
Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have both broken the record for league goals in a Primera Division season on the very same night.
Ronaldo headed a crucial second for Real Madrid as Jose Mourinho's men came from behind to beat Sporting Gijon 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, while Messi hit a double in Barcelona's match at Levante later on Saturday.
Ronaldo had equalled last season's total of 40 with a hat-trick in the 4-1 derby win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, but surpassed the mark on Saturday after scoring with a 73rd-minute header at the Bernabeu.
The Portuguese won the Pichichi prize last season, although Marca, who award the trophy, claimed the Madrid forward had scored 41 times, attributing a deflected free kick against Real Sociedad to Ronaldo - even though the referee had given the goal to Pepe.
Messi, meanwhile, began the day on 39 league goals but his two second-half goals saw Barca come from behind at Levante and he, too, now has 41 Primera Division strikes this term. The Argentine also equalled a Liga record by scoring for the 10th game in a row.
Messi now has 64 goals in all competitions, while Ronaldo has scored 53. Madrid also levelled their all-time Liga goals record of 107 strikes and will look to surpass that total, set by John Toshack's Real side in 1989-90, in next weekend's Clasico at Camp Nou.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi hit record 41 La Liga goals
CRISTIANO Ronaldo and Lionel Messi took their La Liga goals tally this season to a record-breaking 41 each.
First, Ronaldo broke his own mark of last season by scoring in the 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Sporting Gijon.
Messi later grabbed a brace as Barcelona also hit back from a goal down to defeat Levante 2-1 as the champions stayed four points behind Real with the mouthwatering, season-defining El Clasico to come next weekend.
On a night of landmarks, Real's third goal was their 107th of La Liga this season.
It puts them level with John Toshack's Real Madrid team of the 1989-90 season with Jose Mourinho's side still with five matches to play.
"The records come as a result of the work of all the players who have given so much and deserve to be champions,'' said Real assistant coach Aitor Karanka.
"For those who say that Jose Mourinho is a defensive coach then you just need to look at these statistics.''
A Sergio Ramos handball had seen Miguel Angel De las Cuevas put Sporting ahead from the penalty spot after half an hour before Gonzalo Higuain equalised with a header after 36 minutes.
Ronaldo finally broke Sporting's resistance with a header after 73 minutes and, following the dismissal of Roberto Canella for a second yellow card, Karim Benzema hit the third.
Nuri Sahin began in midfield for Real alongside Sami Khedira, with Xabi Alonso suspended.
Jose Callejon was included in a four-pronged attack with Benzema on the bench, with Mourinho holding him back for the Champions League semi-final with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Sporting won a controversial penalty after Ramos slid in to clear the ball and the referee claimed he handled. De las Cuevas sent the ball straight down the middle of the goal to give Sporting the lead.
Real responded with Khedira going close with a shot from the edge of the area before Higuain headed in the equaliser.
Ramos crossed for the Argentine, who had not been picked up by Sporting defence, and he knocked the ball past keeper Juan Pablo.
Mourinho brought on Benzema and Angel Di Maria for the second half.
Ronaldo had further shots from distance and Benzema missed a half chance but they appeared to be lacking inspiration before Ronaldo headed in a 74th-minute Di Maria cross.
Canella, who was already on a yellow card, picked up a second for a foul on Di Maria and then, nine minutes from the end, Benzema sealed the win with a shot from a Mesut Ozil pass.
Levante went ahead against Barcelona from a 23rd-minute penalty converted by Jose Barkero.
But Messi then hit a second half brace with his second goal, from the penalty spot after a foul by Pedro Botelho on Juan Cuenca, drawing him level with his great Portuguese rival Ronaldo on 41 league goals.
"This result is important in lifting us for the upcoming match in London and then the Madrid game,'' said Barca coach Pep Guardiola with his side facing Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
"Now we are going to think about the Chelsea match and then Madrid which will be a very hard game. We have won the last three titles, but if they win this time then that will be that.''
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