LONDON: Lionel Messi netted a hat-trick to shatter the Champions League goal-scoring record as Barcelona won 4-0 at APOEL on Tuesday, while Sergio Aguero also bagged three goals as Manchester City snatched a 3-2 victory over 10-man Bayern Munich.

Argentina wizard Messi took his tally to 74 with his fifth Champions League hat trick in 91 matches. The previous record of 71 goals had been set by former Real Madrid and Schalke striker Raul over the course of 142 matches.

“I am happy for having achieved such a nice record in a competition of this importance, but the really relevant thing is that we took the three points,” Messi said. “Barca played a great match.”

Luis Suarez had opened the scoring with his first competitive goal since moving from Liverpool in the summer.

Also in Group ‘F’, Paris St Germain beat Ajax 3-1. Barcelona and PSG had already qualified for the knockout stages and play each other next to decide the group winner.

In Group ‘E’, Aguero struck two late goals against Bayern to keep alive City’s hopes of reaching the knockout phase.

Aguero scored from the penalty spot mid-way through the first half after Mehdi Benatia had been sent off, only for goals from Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski to put Bayern in front at half-time at the Etihad Stadium.

He then capitalised on defensive errors to score again in the 85th and in the first minute of stoppage time to snatch a stunning win.

City are level on five points with CSKA Moscow and AS Roma, who earlier drew 1-1, and know if they win in Rome and the Russians fail to beat Bayern in the final round of matches they will qualify for the last 16.

“I am very happy it is very important for us. The [group] draw was difficult but we’re happy now because this is a very important result and the next game we have to win,” Aguero told ITV.

Chelsea cruised past Schalke 04 5-0 to not only secure a place in the second round but also ensure they will win Group ‘G’, with the German side now needing to win in Maribor in the final match to leapfrog Sporting Lisbon which beat the Slovenian club 3-1.

In Group ‘H’, Shakhtar Donetsk booked their place in the knock-out rounds despite losing 1-0 at home to Athletic Bilbao. That was because Porto, who have won the group, cruised to a 3-0 win at BATE Borisov.

The 27-year-old Messi had broken the Spanish league’s goal-scoring record at the weekend with a hat trick and he did the same in Europe’s elite club competition, breaking the record in the 38th minute, when he redirected Rafinha’s effort from 20 yards out.

“Messi is the best player of all time ... a player who will continue to surprise us for a long time to come,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said.

Just 10 minutes before that, Suarez, who moved from Liverpool in the close season, had finally notched his first goal — a brilliant solo effort — for the Catalans in his fifth appearance since making his debut in a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid on October 25.

Messi doubled his tally in the 58th, chipping Daniel Alves’ through-ball past APOEL goalkeeper Urko Pardo before completing his hat-trick with a tap-in three minutes from time.

Edinson Cavani scored twice and Zlatan Ibrahimovic notched his first PSG goal for nearly three months after Davy Klaassen had headed Ajax level at the Parc des Princes.

Bayern were forced to play the majority of their match with 10 men after Benatia was sent off in the 21st-minute for bringing down Aguero, who scored the resulting penalty.

However, Bayern still went into the break in front with two goals in the final five minutes, first through Alonso’s free-kick and then as Lewandowski outjumped Vincent Kompany and Bakary Sagna to head home a deep right-wing cross.

But a mistake from Alonso enabled Aguero to equalise and in the 91st minute the Argentine exploited an error by City old boy Jerome Boateng to race through and slot past Manuel Neuer and consign Bayern to a first competitive loss this season.

“I always said before this night, Sergio is one of the best players in the world, one of the best strikers,” said City manager Manuel Pellegrini.

Roma had seemed on the verge of victory after Francesco Totti beat his own record as the Champions League’s oldest-ever goalscorer with a thunderbolt of a free-kick just before halftime.

But Vasily Berezutski’s cross from deep in the last moments of the second half flew over the heads of the Roma defence and went in at the far post for a freak equaliser.

“The game seemed won,” Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.”

At Schalke, John Terry, Willian and an own goal by Jan Kirchhoff had given Chelsea a comfortable half-time lead before second-half substitutes Didier Drogba and Ramires added to the score-line.

“It was a fantastic performance from the first to the last minute...5-0 in Germany is not normal,” coach Jose Mourinho told reporters.

Chelsea clinched top spot in Group ‘G’ with 11 points from five games, four ahead of Sporting. Schalke are in third position on five points while Maribor are on three with one match remaining.

Winger Nani scored a superb solo goal while Carlos Mane and Islam Slimani were also on target for Sporting, who won their second game in a row after taking only one point from their opening three matches.

Published in Dawn, November 27th , 2014