Messi scores on return from injury for Inter Miami
Lionel Messi scored on his return from injury as Inter Miami were held to a 2-2 home draw with Colorado in their Major League Soccer (MLS) clash.
A thrilling performance of 29 goals from Lionel Messi in the 26 matches played at Camp Nou in 2019 helped Barcelona remain unbeaten at home this year.
16 from Luiz Suarez, six from Antoine Griezmann, five each from Arturo Vidal and Ousmane Dembele helped Messi’s cause.
Talking about the assists, Messi provided 12, whereas Suarez with eight and Jordi Alba with seven follow the talisman.
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It’s only the seventh time Barca have gone a whole year without a single loss at home after achieving the feat earlier in 1957, 1959, 1968, 1974, 1975 and 2011.
A total of 23 teams visited the Camp Nou this year in all competitions, but none of them could register victories. Valladolid, Levante, Sevilla, Valencia and Real Madrid all came twice at the venue.
The biggest win at Camp Nou this season for Barcelona came against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey quarterfinal match, where Philippe Coutinho scored a brace and Ivan Rakitic, Sergi Roberto, Suarez and Messi scored a goal each to end 6-1.
Notably, it was the ninth time and sixth straight that Messi finished the year with at least 50 goals overall for club and country, 45 of them in 2019 for Barcelona and five for Argentina. Messi has reached the mark every year since 2010, with the exception of 2013 when he had 45. Messi’s highest mark was 91 goals in total in 2012.
The Argentine bagged his world-record sixth Ballon d’Or in Paris early December. He surpassed the likes of Liverpool stars Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane and his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo to bag home the coveted award.
With this award, he has become the most successful player since the inception of the award, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five such awards to his name.
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