Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates his second goal against Elche during their Spanish first division soccer match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona August 24, 2014.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates his second goal against Elche during their Spanish first division soccer match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona August 24, 2014. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

Lionel Messi equalled Raul Gonzalez' record as the top scorer in UEFA Champions League history with a brace to earn Barcelona a 2-0 win over Ajax in Group F yesterday. Marc Bartra challenged Jasper Cillessen of Ajax who was near the byline and picked up a loose ball which he crossed toward Messi in the 36th minute. The Argentinian wasted no time and headed into the empty net. In the 76th minute, Messi poked home his second to tie the record of Gonzalez and one ahead of Real Madrid and Portugal team captain Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi's recent tally is by far the most for a single club. It took Gonzalez 142 UEFA Champions League outings to accomplish his 71 goals, while Messi's appearance with Ajax was just his 90th. On the other hand, Ronaldo who began and ended Madrid's win against Liverpool FC on 70 goals, has appeared in the tournament for 107 times.

In the UEFA club competitions record, Raul tops the list with 77 goals, which is five ahead of Messi and four ahead of Ronaldo. Two former Premier League legends make up the top five list with the ex-Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy on the fourth spot and Arsenal legend Thiery Henry on the fifth spot with a half-century of strikes.

The 27-year-old Messi's strike ensured a spot as the joint-top European Cup scorer with Ronaldo and Gonzalez. Back in 2005, Ronaldo found the net for Manchester United FC in the third qualifying round, while Messi and Gonzalez' goals came in the competition proper. Of Messi's 71 goals, eight are against AC Milan. Back in 2010, Messi was able to net four times in a single game against the Gunners and in 2012, he scored five against Bayer Leverkusen.

Ronaldo, who is now third on the list had the recent chance to tie the record of Gonzalez on Tuesday but failed to find the back of the net during Real Madrid's win against Liverpool 1-0.

Lionel Messi has played in 15 different countries in the Champions League and scored at least one goal in each of them.

— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) November 5, 2014

That's Messi's fourth headed goal in the #UCL. He scored 58 with his left foot, eight with his right: http://t.co/noFq511V8t

— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) November 5, 2014

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