Lionel Messi equals Champions League goals record previously held by Real Madrid legend in Barcelona defeat

- Lionel Messi was on target for Barcelona in their 4-1 defeat to PSG

- The goal helped the Argentine to equal the Champions League record previously held by Raul

- The 33-year-old has now scored in 17 consecutive years in the history of the competition

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Lionel Messi's Barcelona was humiliated by Paris Saint Germain at Camp Nou in the first leg of their Champions League rounds of 16 clash.

The French League giants ran riots over their hosts with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hattrick to help his side grab a 4-1 advantage ahead of the second leg in France next month.

Messi had opened the scoring for the Catalans through the spot in the 27th minute but his goal was a mere consolation in the game.

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However, the goal that could not help Barca avoid defeat against PSG saw the Argentine equal the Champions League record previously held by Real Madrid legend Raul by scoring in his 17th consecutive year in the competition.

It was a remarkable moment for the six-time Ballon d'Or winner who scored his first goal in the European championship in 2005.

Goal reports that Raul recorded his first Champions League goal for Real Madrid in 1995 as a teenager, and he went ahead to score in every calendar year in the competition through 2011 when he was at Schalke.

Messi's goal against PSG was also his 20th of the current season, making it the 13th straight season he has reached that mark.

The 33-year-old equally reached 760 appearances for Barcelona in all competitions and he needed just eight more games to beat Xavi's all-time record of 767 games during his reign at the club.

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Messi made his 505th La Liga appearance for Barca at the weekend against Alaves, tying Xavi's all-time mark in that department.

Despite achieving some personal glory, Kylian Mbappe stole the show after scoring a hat-trick to power PSG to a Barca 4-1 triumph at the end of the meeting.

Legit.ng earlier reported that high flying Paris Saint-Germain handed Barcelona a 4-1 defeat right at the Camp Nou as the UEFA Champions League action returns on Tuesday night, February 16.

The French side took a giant lead as the prestigious competition returns, ahead of the reverse fixture billed for next month.

It was Barcelona who took the lead in the 25th minute of the encounter following a well-taken penalty kick by captain Lionel Messi.

Oluwatomiwa is a sports editor with Legit.ng. He has over eight years of field and office experience in the media industry. He graduated from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in 2014 with HND in Mass Communication. Connect with him on Twitter @TomiwaBabalola.