An insight into the place of Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi on the list of the 21st century’s greatest free-kick takers has been provided on Saturday.
Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, of course, has taken his place in the headlines once more this evening.
This comes on the back of PSG’s latest three-point haul.
In their return to action on the back of the international break, Christophe Galtier’s troops welcomed OGC Nice to the Parc des Princes, aware that a victory would guide them back clear of Marseille to the Ligue 1 summit.
And, when all was said and done, emerge triumphant is precisely what the hosts went on to do, courtesy of a late winner on the part of substitute Kylian Mbappe:
Mbappe’s close-range finish, though, only came after PSG were set in motion by another member of the club’s star-studded frontline - Leo Messi - during the first-half.
Just days on from rounding out a brace on the international stage courtesy of a pinpoint free-kick, Messi was at it again on Saturday, courtesy of the following sumptuous effort:
And the Argentine icon, in turn, reached an altogether noteworthy benchmark when it comes to set-piece specials.
As per French outlet Stats du Foot, Messi has now found the net directly from free-kicks on no fewer than 60 occasions across his career to date.
This leaves the 35-year-old sitting 4th on the list of the 21st century’s greatest set-piece takers, behind the trio of Juninho Pernambucano, Ronaldinho, and David Beckham.
The story so far: Ranking Manchester City & Manchester United ahead of derby clash
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/xlmedia/d6ef9264-396f-45e7-b4b1-627d5535badb.png)
