Breaking down Lionel Messi’s astonishingly good record against English clubs | OneFootball

Lionel Messi is set to face England for the first time in his storied Argentina career.

But while he’s never taken on the Three Lions on the international stage, he has plenty of experience of facing English clubs in the Champions League – and his record is outrageous.

“Facing England will be special! It’s my first time playing against England. I’ve played against just about everyone except them,” Messi said after Argentina booked their place in the semi-finals.

“They are a great team, a football powerhouse, it’s always exciting to face opponents like that.”

Messi spent his entire European career as a Champions League player. Not once did he play in the Europa League, with Barcelona only dropping into UEFA’s second-tier competition after his departure.

That meant that he only faced the traditional ‘big six’ of the Premier League – Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham. And he boasts a pretty formidable record against all of them.

And the Premier League’s elite rarely found an answer to Messi.

Across 36 Champions League matches against England’s top clubs, he racked up 27 goals and six assists, averaging a goal every 114 minutes and a goal involvement every 93.

Arsenal were his favourite victims by some distance. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner plundered nine goals and an assist in just six appearances against the Gunners, averaging a remarkable goal every 59 minutes and a goal contribution every 53 minutes.

Arguably his most memorable performance came against Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, when he scored four goals in an unforgettable Champions League clash back in 2010.

“He’s like a PlayStation,” Wenger reacted at the time.

“I think he can take advantage of every mistake you make. Barcelona are a very good side, but of course they have Messi who can make the difference at any moment in the game.”

“He is very young but he can achieve a lot. There are not many players who can score four goals like he did.

“He has six or seven great years ahead of him and he can become unbelievable. Touch wood nothing happens to him.”

Wenger was pretty spot on in his assessment, but he got the timescale wrong. Sixteen years later he’s still producing dominant, decisive performances on the world stage.

Manchester City also struggled to contain him, with Messi producing seven goals and two assists in eight meetings, while he scored four times in six games against Manchester United – including memorable strikes in both the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals.

Liverpool and Chelsea enjoyed comparatively more success at limiting him, but only by Messi’s absurdly high standards.

He still managed two goals in four games against the Reds – including that unforgettable free-kick at Camp Nou – while he chipped in with three goals and three assists across 10 meetings with Chelsea. Tottenham only faced him twice, but he still found the net in both matches.

Only three of Messi’s 27 goals against English opposition came from the penalty spot, underlining just how relentlessly he punished some of the Premier League’s finest sides from open play.

Manchester City

Arsenal

Liverpool

Chelsea

Tottenham

Overall