You could sense it was coming.
PSV Eindhoven had threatened Barcelona on the other end a couple times in the opening 30 minutes of the first Champions League match of the group stage, but when Lionel Messi lined up behind the ball after a hard foul on Ousmane Dembélé just outside the box, there was only ever going to be one outcome.
Lionel Messi scored the first goal of the Champions League group stage with a stunningly perfect free kick, curled into the top-right corner of the net to give Barça a lead in the 31st minute on Tuesday in Barcelona.
KING
[: U.S. only] pic.twitter.com/S4azRkQM3c— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 18, 2018
The Messi free kick vs PSV deserves a second look (and this time in GIF form so people not in the U.S. can watch because we don’t want to leave anyone out).
Who else but LIONEL MESSI to score the first goal of the #UCL group stage for this campaign!!!
Wonderful free kick #Golazo to give #Barça the 1-0 lead.#FCBPSV #FCBlive #Messi pic.twitter.com/4ayBPVxBNW— #ThankYouDeuce (@JogaBonito_USA) September 18, 2018
With the goal, Messi became the second player to score in 14 straight Champions League seasons, a record illustrating the Argentine’s brilliance and longevity.
14 - Lionel Messi is the second player in the Champions League history to score in 14 consecutive seasons, after Raul Gonzalez. Infallible. pic.twitter.com/BxHDYmmVnN
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 18, 2018
Barcelona led 1-0 at halftime thanks to the Messi free kick vs PSV. The other early match on Tuesday (a new feature in the Champions League), was a 0-0 draw at halftime between Inter Milan and Tottenham — a match in which neither team looks like it will score even if they played another 145 minutes.
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