Messi scores 100th goal in European competition

Lionel Messi scored his 100th goal in European competition on Wednesday when he netted the second in Barcelona's 3-1 Champions League win against Olympiakos.

Messi became just the second player to reach the landmark after Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo brought up a century of goals in UEFA competitions earlier this year.

The Barca forward came into the game in at Camp Nou on 99 goals, with 96 of them having come in the Champions League and the other three in the European Super Cup.

His first ever European goal for the Blaugrana came against another Greek side, Panathinaikos, in 2005 while he was still just a teenager.

Goals in two finals against Manchester United, four goals in one game against Arsenal and a five-goal haul against Bayer Leverkusen have since followed.

Ronaldo was the first player to reach 100 goals when he scored a brace against Bayern Munich in April.

The Portugal international has since moved onto 113 goals across UEFA club competitions, which includes his penalty in Real Madrid's 1-1 draw with Tottenham on Tuesday.

Messi brought up his century in his 596th appearance for Barca in all competitions, having pulled clear of Carles Puyol in third place on Barca's all-time appearance list before the last international break.

Only Andres Iniesta, who made his 641st appearance for the club against Olympiakos, and Xavi Hernandez, who appeared 767 times before leaving in 2015, have played more official games for Barca than the Argentine.

Source: ESPN FC