Lionel Messi pays touching tribute to Maradona after breaking all-time single league record vs Osasuna

By Conor Laird Published: November 29, 2020 3:14 pm
Last Updated: November 29, 2020 4:19 pm
Lionel Messi pays touching tribute to Maradona after breaking all-time single league record vs Osasuna

Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi this afternoon paid tribute to fellow countryman and Argentine icon Diego Maradona, after finding the net during his side’s comfortable win over Osasuna.

Catalans cruise

Ronald Koeman’s men welcomed Los Rojillos to the Camp Nou a short time ago, for their latest La Liga outing.

The Blaugrana headed into proceedings on the back of a much-needed win during the week, when a 4-0 drubbing of Dynamo Kyiv saw Barca book their spot in the last-16 of the Champions League.

A follow-up victory this afternoon was nevertheless imperative, though, after the Catalan giants’ defeat at Atletico Madrid last weekend left them languishing in unfamiliar territory, in the bottom half of the Spanish top-flight.

And, when all was said and done at the Camp Nou, make it two wins from two was exactly what Barcelona managed.

An utterly dominant performance on the part of the hosts eventually saw Osasuna downed by 4 goals to nil.

Martin Braithwaite opened the afternoon’s scoring inside the opening half hour, before Antoine Griezmann doubled the Blaugrana’s advantage in style shortly before the interval:

Philippe Coutinho was next up, putting Koeman’s hosts out of sight early in the 2nd-half.

Messi’s Maradona moment

As outlined above, however, it was Barcelona’s 4th and final strike of the afternoon which has since seen headlines grabbed across across the globe.

Lionel Messi was the goalscorer, dancing his way to the edge of the area in typically effortless fashion, before unleashing a wonderful left-footed finish beyond Sergio Herrera in the Osasuna net.

The prolific attacker’s strike, meanwhile, came as a special one, for a whole host of reasons.

First, and perhaps most significantly, it saw Messi handed the opportunity to pay tribute to the late, great Diego Maradona, after the Argentine legend sadly passed away earlier this week.

Messi opted to unveil a Newell’s Old Boys jersey, a club for whom both he and Maradona lined out in their home country, with the iconic no.10 featured on the back:

Messi’s latest moment of magic, though, also came as a significant one from an individual perspective.

The 33-year-old’s goal this afternoon was his 448th in La Liga, breaking a tie with Austria-Hungarian legend Josef Bican to hand Messi sole ownership of the record for most goals ever scored in a single European league:

Barcelona could save as much as €99 million on Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Wijnaldum

Anthony Martial’s absence for Man United vs Southampton explained

This article was edited by Josh Barker.