It was Lionel Messi's turn to take the Champions League spotlight on Wednesday night following Cristiano Ronaldo's stunning hat-trick for Juventus 24 hours earlier.
Messi responded to his old rival's heroics against Atletico Madrid with an excellent performance of his own for Barcelona, scoring twice as they joined Juventus in the quarter-finals with a 5-1 win over Lyon at the Nou Camp.
Messi's goals make this the 11th consecutive season in which he has reached the 35-goal mark, but Ronaldo's hat-trick against Atletico underlined his status as the king of the Champions League.
The Portuguese is the competition's top scorer with 124 goals in 160 games, putting him comfortably ahead of Messi, who has now netted 108 goals - albeit in just 131 appearances.
Ronaldo has also won five Champions League trophies to Messi's four, meaning he is now aiming to become the first player to win the competition six times.
Interestingly, Messi is in fact ahead of Ronaldo in terms of minutes per goal in the Champions League, averaging a goal every 100 minutes compared to Ronaldo's 112 minutes, but when it comes to the crunch, Ronaldo's record is unrivalled.
Ronaldo has a habit of stepping up when it matters most. Incredibly, he has scored 63 goals in 77 Champions League knockout games compared to Messi's total of 42 goals in 64. It gives him a knockout stage strike rate of a goal every 108 minutes to Messi's 131 minutes.
The pair are level for Champions League hat-tricks with eight apiece, but it is significant that four of Ronaldo's have come in the knockout stages compared to only two of Messi's.
Their Champions League rivalry is now poised to continue, with Juventus and Barcelona set to learn their quarter-final fate when the draw takes place on Friday at 11am.
Will Ronaldo and Messi be drawn against each other? Or will they be kept apart until the final?
What's certain is that a Champions League showdown between these two titans of the competition would whet the appetite of football fans everywhere.
Martintz
468
Donβt believe in Juventus but u should believe in CR RONALDO
Famadimr
327
Jowcenprt
283
And some people are saying that their time is over
FootballAddict
233
I love both cristiano ronaldo and messi,but personally for me,to say which one is better,is the one who will always show up when it matters the most to his team. Thats should be the key factor for this. If u guys never watch NBA,they have the league MVP (most valueble player) for those league games but when it comes to the playoff round until the final,they will have another MVP awards called MVP Finals to celebrate the best player for the final series,and this player is the one who will always step up and shines the most when it matter the most for his team,the key factor in helping the team to win the title. While to be the league MVP,u can collect all the stats playing agaisnt lesser team,with scores,assist,triple double,blocks,3 pointers,but the Finals MVP is for the player who is really important in th crunch time when it matter the most. So,based on the stats,i would choose ronaldo over messi,the record itself shows that he is the more effective player when it matter the most (knockout rounds). Anyway,not hatin on messi,again,i love him,but just statin the fact,backed by the stats and records. Peace.
hysonwayne
211
2 goals 2 assists it is clear that Messi is the better one πͺππ
prakashcr7
201
Both are just phenomenonal. They are doing the things which are almost impossible to do. They ard improving day by day. They are trying to make their fans happy. The rivalry between messi and Ronaldo made each other better and better day by day. If one do great then other tries to do more better than him. Such thing Made both messi and Ronaldo the greatest. Love one Respect both ππππ If you love messi then it doesn't mean you need to hate Ronaldo. And If you love Ronaldo then it doesn't mean you need hate messi.
ChelseaQueen1
175
Itβs very simple. Ronaldo does extraordinarily well in a game they compare him to Messi, If Messi does Extraordinarily well in games They compare him to Maradona and Pele. There are Levels! Combined goals and assists this season: β½π― Lionel Messi: 56 β½π― Cristiano Ronaldo: 36 β½π― Raheem Sterling: 35 β½π― Karim Benzema: 30 β½π― Mo Salah: 28 β½π― Antoine Griezmann: 26 A king will remain a king forever ππ
yucdlnsz
158
The Earth is 4.543 billion years old, and somehow we managed to live in the same era of Lionel Messi.
Wasim-Ahmed
147
They are untouchable, unforgettable, unreachable. please guys stop comparison just enjoy them, they will not able to play for a Lifetime and their era is just about to End. so Love one Respect Both...
deshan
114
Messi has promised his people that UCL trophy will come to Camp nou again. so I'm in faith on him. he will do it.. According to Valverde "We will see what will happen".. ForΓ§a BarΓ§a πβ€οΈ
Gyanen
105
Biggest rivalry in Football. Messi vs Ronaldo. No other rivalry will overtake their competition.
darkera
97
OmParghale
83
just stop comparing Both of them have their own specialities and weaknesses .
fumbnorsuz
75
Everybody just compare their statistics but no one has the guts to accept that messi play along side with one of the best team and trio and ronaldo play single handed games so if people have their brain in right place then they will understand easily.πππ
Simltyz
67
Ronaldo and Messi are the type of players that make football really entertaining (which is what the game of football is all about). People will soon realize how boring football at this level could be when these two greats retire (even if just one of them), unless new players of equal or better talents emerge before their retirement. So fans should not just forecast on thinking about who is the greater of the two but should worry more about their absence in the field, which is inevitably coming in just a few years! I would like to advise Ronaldo and Messi to show the public more friendship between themselves to minimize public hype of this rivalry. which has tended to paint a picture of 'hatred' between the two players!
lekana_12
67
Can we all stop comparing Messi and Ronaldo, they are both talented for different reasons. Their style of playing is a 2 different thing. This is football and we have two goal, one is outstanding for goal scoring and outstanding abilities and the other is great with ball in dribbling skills and scoring which makes Messi shines more, Ronaldo is a hustler and he gets the results as well. And for that heβs the greatest, letβs remember Ronaldo have played in four different countries,and messi havenβt since Messi really play much outside the Barca squad. Although Messi is the greatest heβs not fully activated outside Barca
Razes10
35
Messi was about to shoot with his left but suddenly remembered Pele's criticism and made it for the right foot