Lionel Messi breaks another Champions League record with PSG

After scoring Paris Saint-Germain’s opening goal against Benfica on Wednesday, Lionel Messi broke one of his own Champions League records.

A wonderful piece of link-up play between Kylian Mbappé and Neymar Jr saw Messi arrive through the middle of the pitch, before curling home a stunning home effort to give Christophe Galtier’s side the lead in Lisbon.

The Argentine forward has now scored against 40 different clubs in the Champions League, the most of any player in the history of the competition. Messi has been most prolific against Arsenal, scoring nine times against the Premier League outfit.

Only behind Ronaldo

The PSG forward is the second highest scorer in Champions League history with 126 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way with 140 goals.

After Messi’s sublime first-half strike, the Portuguese side drew level just before half-time after Danilo Pereira put the ball into his own net.

Joint top with Benfica

PSG won their opening two group matches against Juventus and Maccabi Haïfa and the French outfit currently sit joint top of Group H with Benfica after the draw in the Portuguese capital.

Messi substituted

The former Barcelona captain was PSG’s best performer but was replaced by Spain international Pablo Sarabia with 10 minutes left on the clock. Galtier spoke about the Messi substitution post-match.

“He signalled that he wanted to come off. On the final sprint, he felt tired. He came off as he was tired and a fresher teammate was a far more interesting option at that moment.”