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Champions League

On this day: Messi’s double sinks Tottenham at Wembley

On 3 October 2018, Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Tottenham 4-2 at Wembley in the Champions League.

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Eight years ago Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona to a 4-2 win over Tottenham at Wembley, scoring twice in a Champions League Group B clash that swung back and forth throughout.

Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring inside two minutes, pouncing after a mistake from Hugo Lloris, before Ivan Rakitić volleyed in a second. Messi then hit the post twice in quick succession at the start of the second half, before Harry Kane pulled one back for Tottenham in the 52nd minute.

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Messi restored Barcelona’s two-goal cushion four minutes later, finishing from close range after a Luis Suárez dummy. Erik Lamela gave Spurs hope again in the 66th minute, but Messi had the final say in the 90th, tapping in after Suárez once more let the ball run through to him.

The win was Barcelona’s first in England since beating Arsenal 2-0 in February 2016, and came seven years after Messi had scored at the same stadium in the 2011 Champions League final against Manchester United. The brace also took him to 30 career multi-goal games in the competition, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 34 at the time.

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Photo: Jeroen Meuwsen/Soccrates/Getty Images

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