Magic Messi makes Barcelona history as Iniesta's La Liga record is beaten

The Argentina international scored the only goal in Saturday’s home tie with Levante to reach yet another career milestone

Lionel Messi has now won more La Liga titles with Barcelona than any other player in the club’s prestigious history.

Barcelona clinched the Spanish championship on Saturday evening following a narrow 1-0 victory at home to Levante.

Messi was left out of the Barca starting XI as Ernesto Valverde looked ahead to the upcoming Champions League semi-final showdown with Liverpool.

The Argentina international was introduced at half-time, however, in place of Philippe Coutinho and inevitably scored the goal to secure his club the Liga crown.

It took Messi 16 minutes to make his mark from the bench, beating two Levante defenders and firing the ball past the previously unbeatable Aitor Fernandez to mark his 34th league goal of the campaign.

The goal was Messi’s 24th as a substitute in La Liga, more than anyone else has managed in the 21st century.

It also secure Messi his 10th Liga title as a Barcelona player, surpassing the previous record held by Andres Iniesta (9).

Barcelona now look forward to a possible European trophy, but will have to overcome a double-headed tie with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to reach the 2019 final in Madrid.

Valverde’s men eased past Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United in the quarter-final stage of the competition, beating them 1-0 at Old Trafford and then 3-0 in the second leg at Camp Nou.

Liverpool promise to be a more formidable opponent, however, as they push for a Premier League and Champions League double under Klopp’s guidance.

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