When Paris Saint-Germain, the Ligue 1 champions, kick up their new European season at home against Juventus on Tuesday night in Group H, Lionel Messi will be looking to extend a fantastic Champions League record.
In his first season in Paris, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner struggled to find his previous scoring touch, but he still scored 11 goals and 15 assists from 34 games across all competitions.
Messi scored five goals in the Champions League last year, as Mauricio Pochettino’s team surrendered to eventual champion Real Madrid in the last-16, losing 3-2 on aggregate.
Messi has had a terrific start to life under Christophe Galtier this season, scoring three goals and assisting six others in six Ligue 1 games in addition to scoring in the Trophee des Champions victory over Nantes.
Last season, Messi added three more against Manchester City, Club Brugge, and RB Leipzig to bring his total for Champions League group-stage goals to 76.
This week, he will be hoping to put himself further ahead of the field in that division.
