BARCELONA (Reuters) – Barcelona’s Lionel Messi scored his 700th career goal by converting a second-half penalty against Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou in La Liga on Tuesday.
The Argentine hit the landmark goal for club and country by netting from the penalty spot to give his side a 2-1 lead in the 50th minute, showing some nerve by chipping the ball into the net to deceive goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Messi had moved on to 699 goals after netting a penalty against Leganes two weeks ago but drew a blank in his last three matches against Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo before finally reaching the milestone against Atletico.
Messi, 33, is Barca’s all-time leading scorer with 630 goals for the club where he has spent his entire career while he has netted a record 70 times for Argentina.
(Reporting by Richard Martin; editing by Ken Ferris)
