He may not have been able to score for the past two games, but Lionel Messi sure knows how to make an impact when reaching a milestone.
The Argentine superstar reached 700 professional goals while playing against Atlético, and even if you could believe that scoring the goal via a penalty was not something worth of praise, how Messi accomplished that feat really deserves some attention.
With the game against Los Colchoneros level 1-1, Messi stepped up to take the spot kick, and when fans though he would drill the shot past Jan Oblak with fury, Messi took the penalty with a delicate, Panenka-style finish. Have a look at Messi's golazo from the spot (Image might be geo-restricted).
Career goal for Lionel Messi
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) June 30, 2020
A cheeky Panenka penalty to do it
Barca lead Atletico 2-1 pic.twitter.com/sOfWayxTs6
With this goal, Messi has joined quite an elite list of players. Counting the Argentine ace, there are only seven players in history that were able to score more than 700 goals for club and country.
With a penalty kick, Lionel Messi joined "The 700 Club." He has scored 630 goals for Barcelona and 70 playing for Argentina. pic.twitter.com/uy942hqbv7
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 30, 2020
Here's a breakdown of how many games Messi needed to hit a centennial.
Lionel Messi has reached 700 goals at senior level for club & country
— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) June 30, 2020
Games played to reach each century:
100th – 210
200th – 332
300th – 418
400th – 525
500th – 632
600th – 747
700th – 862#Messi pic.twitter.com/vq0pBp5zsj