Lionel Messi confirmed his leading role in Barcelona’s pantheon of greats on this day in 2012, breaking the club’s goalscoring record with a hat-trick against Granada.
The Argentina forward powered past Cesar Rodriguez’s benchmark of 232, which had stood since 1955, as he struck three times in a 5-3 thriller at the Nou Camp.
Messi equalled the record with his first goal – volleying home at the far post – and moved ahead with a trademark flourish.
Latching on to Dani Alves’ through ball, he produced a typically-classy lob to beat Julio Cesar and secure his long-anticipated place in the history books.
He was not done there, securing the match ball in the 88th minute when he rounded the goalkeeper and slammed his shot into the roof of the net between two covering defenders on the line.
Messi was in the midst of an unstoppable run of form, finishing the season with a remarkable 50 league goals and left his manager toasting him as the best in the business.
Former Barca head coach Pep Guardiola said: “I’m sorry for those that want to sit on his throne, but this lad is the best.
“Hopefully we can enjoy his football for many more years.
“He does everything and he does it every three days. Leo has rightfully entered into history.”
Messi’s love affair with the Catalan club finally came to an end in 2021, the 34-year-old tearfully departing for Paris St Germain after he had left an unimpeachable legacy behind.
His final scoring record stood at 672, including 474 in LaLiga and 120 in the Champions League, ousting Pele as the most goals for one player at a single club.
Celta Vigo 2-2 Barcelona: Stunning late show denies 10-man Blaugrana
Celta Vigo scored two goals in two minutes late on to earn an entertaining 2-2 draw with Barcelona in LaLiga at the Estadio Abanca-Balaidos.
League leaders Barca appeared to be cruising towards victory when they opened up a two-goal lead thanks to captain Raphinha and leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski.
Raphinha cut inside before tucking home for the opener 15 minutes in, then Lewandowski got his 15th league goal of the season with a simple finish in the 61st minute.
However, the script changed when Blaugrana midfielder Marc Casado was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the 82nd minute.
With Barca down to 10 men, the home side piled on the pressure and it told in the 84th minute, substitute Alfonso Gonzalez converting following an error from Jules Kounde.
The comeback was complete two minutes later, with Hugo Alvarez drilling past Inaki Pena to deny Flick's visitors victory.
Despite the result, Barca top LaLiga with 34 points, five ahead of Atletico Madrid in second and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, who have two games in hand.
Data Debrief: Blaugrana finally held
Going into Saturday's game, Barcelona had gone 24 matches without a draw in LaLiga, winning 20 and losing four.
When they entered the final six minutes with a two-goal advantage, it appeared certain they would match their longest streak without a draw in the competition's history, recorded between February and October 2017 (25 games, 23 wins and two draws).
However, Hansi Flick's side were stunned at the death as they dropped points for a second game in succession following a 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad prior to the international break.
Girona 4-1 Espanyol: Miovski bags double as hosts ride on first-half blitz
Bojan Miovski scored twice as Girona thrashed Espanyol 4-1 in LaLiga at Estadi Municipal de Montilivi on Saturday.
Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci were also on the scoresheet as the home side raced to a 4-0 lead inside the first half hour, with Javi Puado scoring the visiting side's only goal after the break.
After the match was halted because of a fan being taken ill in the crowd, Gil opened the scoring when he unleashed a stunning long-range strike into the bottom corner with four minutes on the clock.
Gil was behind the second goal for Michel's side too, as he capitalised on a defensive error and crossed to Miovski, who made it 2-0 in the 16th minute before the pair combined again for a third five minutes later.
Donny van de Beek's header from Yaser Asprilla's corner was pushed in by Krejci for Girona's fourth in the 27th minute.
Espanyol got a consolation goal 10 minutes into the second half when Puado hit a long-range strike that found the back of Paulo Gazzaniga's net.
Girona, last season's surprise package, climbed to fifth in LaLiga with 21 points, while Espanyol are 19th and in the relegation zone with 10 points.
Guardiola acknowledges Man City 'are fragile' after fifth straight defeat
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged that he is in new territory following their 4-0 home defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, which was their fifth on the bounce.
But despite that, he was not going to hit the panic button, with his side second in the Premier League table and five points behind leaders Liverpool.
"We are fragile at the moment, we could not defend properly. We started well, struggled to score and then conceded. Then the situation is more difficult," he told Sky Sports after the match.
"I've been here as a player, maybe not as a manager, first three games at Barcelona we lost. [In the] last eight years, the results have been there, it would be a mistake to change the approach.
"There are no fairytales in life and sport, sometimes you have to live through these situations. You have to accept it. You can't blame each other, stay together, continue to do what we have done.
"Run away? Absolutely not, we have to stand up more than ever. What will define us is when we fail, we stand up and face it."
Guardiola is by some distance City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies at the club, including each of the last four Premier League titles.
His side visit league leaders Liverpool next week and could trail them by eight points by the time kick-off comes, with Arne Slot's side playing a day after City this weekend.
"I don't know what will happen this season, but not for one second will I not believe in these players," said Guardiola.
"There is no team in the world that can sustain success for eight, nine, 10 years in a row.
"Of course, everything is not fine, but what we try to do is analyse it, let's go to next game and see what happens."
On the individual performances of his players, Guardiola lamented the fitness issues that his side has faced in recent weeks.
"Chances were there. The moment they create the chances, the build-up, we couldn't handle the duels like normal. Now we're struggling a little bit," he told BBC Sport.
"It cannot happen. When you play top level teams, we can concede chances but it's part of process. In our situation, it's a bit tougher.
"The players came back late [from international duty]. There were a few reasons we're not able to be consistent.
"Of course, Rodri is important, but we knew that for many months. But [John] Stones can only play 45 minutes, Jack [Grealish] has been injured many times, Kevin [de Bruyne] two months and five months.
"We have to come back and freshen our minds. The season is so long, many things can happen."
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