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Champions League 2018-19, Round 1: How Leo Messi put a teary-eyed Cristiano Ronaldo in shade

The opening day of Champions League 2018-19 was all about Lionel Messi as he stole the show with a record eighth hat-trick of the UEFA tournament and overall, career’s 48th hat-trick.

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The opening day of Champions League 2018-19 was all about Lionel Messi as he stole the show with a record eighth hat-trick of the UEFA tournament and overall, career’s 48th hat-trick.

Messi broke the deadlock for FC Barcelona in the 32nd minute in their Group B opener against PSV Eindhoven with an immaculately struck free kick, curling the ball over the wall and right into the top near corner.

Taking into consideration Messi’s reputation of converting free-kicks into goals, PSV had a player lying down behind the wall in case Messi went under the wall on his free kick. It’s not a very common tactic but apparently, it has been done quite a few times.

In the past, the Brazilians were one of the teams to have tried the same tactic and their opponents that match were Messi’s Argentina. Brazil had Marcelo hiding behind the wall and interestingly, it was again Messi at the free-kick position. The result was the same as Tuesday night – the tactic could not stop Messi from converting the free-kick into a splendid goal.

WATCH Leo Messi's hat-trick here: 

In the 75th minute, Barcelona’s Dembele scored the fifth goal from sixth games in all competitions this season. Two minutes later, Messi got his second goal turning Ivan Rakitic's dinked pass into the near corner with one flick of his boot. Soon after that, in the 87th minute, Messi netted a third and Barca’s fourth when he received another chipped pass, this time from Luis Suarez, and ruthlessly smashed it home.

In contradiction to that, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was making his Juventus debut at the Champions League, lasted only for 29 minutes as he was red-carded but the Italians began their Group H campaign impressively with a 2-0 victory at Valencia on Wednesday.

The night was meant to be all about Ronaldo's maiden Champions League appearance for the club he had tormented so often down the years for Real Madrid.

His first real impression, however, was not what anyone in the Mestalla could have imagined though as he was sent off for the first time in the Champions League in his 154th appearance.

After a lively opening half hour the Portuguese forward, scorer of a record 121 Champions League goals, was involved in a tangle in the penalty area with Valencia defender Jeison Murillo as he awaited a cross from the left.

It did not appear too sinister but German referee Felix Brych, after consulting with his assistant behind the goal, pulled out his red card to the dismay of Ronaldo.

 

 

After leaving the pitch the five-time Champions League winner, whose stoppage-time penalty for Real Madrid knocked Juve out in the quarter-finals last season, waited by the tunnel entrance, seemingly on the verge of tears.

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