Lionel Messi’s Champions League record on English soil for Barcelona

Image: Lionel Messi will be looking to improve his record in England against Man City

Five time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi will bring his vast talents to England once more when he and his Barcelona team-mates take on Manchester City on Tuesday.

The Argentine scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over City a fortnight ago to bolster his already impressive record against English opposition.

Messi has scored 16 times in his last 15 appearances against English teams, scoring more Champions League goals against them than sides from any other nation.

However, the trend is for the 29-year-old to do his best work against English opponents within the confines of the Nou Camp.

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In fact, Messi netted only twice in his first 11 games for Barcelona on English soil. The first was against Manchester United at 'neutral' Wembley in the 2011 Champions League final.

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As a result, the penalty he scored on his first appearance at the Etihad Stadium in February 2014 ended a 771-minute goal drought on Premier League grounds.

Messi's scoring rates

Appearances Goals Goals per game
La Liga 356 319 0.90
Champions League 108 89 0.82
In England 12 4 0.33

Since then, he has taken his tally to four in 12 thanks to his second-half brace against Arsenal in last season's Champions League knockout tie at the Emirates Stadium.

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Even so, it is a one-in-three record he will be seeking to improve at the Etihad Stadium this week given that it compares unfavourably with his outrageous overall tallies…

Messi at Premier League grounds

Year Opponent Result Score Goals
2006 Chelsea W 2-1 0
2006 Chelsea L 0-1 0
2007 Liverpool W 1-0 0
2008 Man Utd L 0-1 0
2009 Chelsea D 1-1 0
2010 Arsenal D 2-2 0
2011 Arsenal L 1-2 0
2012 Chelsea L 0-1 0
2014 Man City W 2-0 1
2015 Man City W 2-1 0
2016 Arsenal W 2-0 2
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