Top 5 solo goals by Lionel Messi

Since making his debut for Barcelona, Lionel Messi has been a nightmare for quite a few defenders. Over the years, Messi has scored a few solo goals but some of them are just so good that even professional footballers find them unbelievable.

Messi's poise, fine ball control and quick feet make it pretty hard to get the ball off him when he is in full flow and quite a few defenders will attest to the aforementioned having just stood there when La Pulga slalomed past them to score all on his own.

We take a look at some of Messi's exhilarating solo goals...

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#5 La Liga 2016, Barcelona 3-0 Osasuna

(Video uploaded by Football News)

Opposition: Osasuna

Date: 10th December 2016

Competition: La Liga

Result: Barcelona 3-0 Osasuna

Before this match, Barcelona were six points behind their arch-rivals Real Madrid. At the El Sadar Stadium, Osasuna played really well to prevent Barcelona from scoring in the first half.

Osasuna did all they could but they couldn't put a hold on Lionel Messi. It was Messi who breached the tight Osasuna defence by scoring the opening goal of the match but the main highlight of the game was Messi's second goal.

He made a brilliant solo run in injury time to score one of the finest goals of his career.

#4 La Liga 2010, Barcelona 3-0 Valencia

(Video uploaded by SREAH86)

Opposition: Valencia

Date: 14th March 2010

Competition: La Liga

Result: Barcelona 3-0 Valencia

In the first half of the match, Valencia's defenders did an excellent job to deny Messi any space. Whenever Messi received the ball, he had to deal with the high press of the Valencia defence. It wasn't just Messi who struggled, though.

Pep Guardiola was the manager of Barcelona at the time and he changed the tactics and formation at half-time. From 4-4-3, he changed the formation to 4-4-2 which gave Messi some freedom and test Valencia's defence. The result was a hat-trick by Messi.

That hat-trick in itself was quite extraordinary but the solo goal by the star was quite extraordinary.

#3 Champions League 2011, Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid

(Video uploaded by BarcaTV)

Opposition: Real Madrid

Date: 27 April 2011

Competition: Champions League

Result: Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid

"And here's Messi....away from one, two, three, four....wonderful, wonderful, wonderful... How good is he?! A mere supernatural goal from Lionel Messi! He has wriggled and tiptoed his way to the gates of Wembley Stadium. He is just brilliant. Best player in the world, bar none," the commentators were clearly amazed by the goal.

Apart from the sheer class of this goal, it might be one of the most important goals of Messi's career. Playing at Santiago Bernabeu, it was a tight semi-final game until the 88th minute when Messi scored this truly amazing goal.

Dribbling past five players, he sprinted into the Real Madrid penalty area and passed the ball into the net, past Iker Casillas, to double the lead for Barcelona. It was his second goal of the match.

#2 Copa del Rey 2015, Barcelona 3-1 Athletic Bilbao

(Video uploaded by Raheem Comps 2)

Opposition: Athletic Bilbao

Date: 30th May 2015

Competition: Copa del Rey

Result: Barcelona 3-1 Athletic Bilbao

This was the final match of Copa del Rey and Barcelona were the favourites to win this game. In the 20th minute, fans in the stadium witnessed a world-class goal by Lionel Messi.

After getting the ball on the right flank, there was not much room to sprint for normal attackers. Messi isn't normal, though, is he?

He dribbled past three players to reach the right side of the penalty box. At that moment there wasn't an angle to shoot, so he shifted the ball to his left and scored the beautiful goal from a tight angle.

#1 Copa del Rey 2007, Barcelona 5-2 Getafe

(Video uploaded by LionelMessiFanClub)

Opposition: Getafe

Date: 18 April 2007

Competition: Copa del Rey

Result: Barcelona 5-2 Getafe

This solo goal by Lionel Messi is probably the finest goals in the history of football. Just 19 years old at the time, Messi was already generating a lot of buzz and many were calling him the best young talent.

The comparison between Diego Maradona and Messi is common but this goal magnified that connection. In the 28th minute, Messi picked the ball in his own half and dribbled through the whole defence including the goalkeeper to score this goal.