Spain's press almost ran out of superlatives on Thursday to praise Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi after he scored a record five goals against Bayer Leverkusen, setting a Champions League record.
"Ave Messi" and "Hurricane Messi" the headlines glowed, after the Argentinian set a new benchmark for the competition during Barcelona's 7-1 demolition of the German team.
"The hand of God" headlined in unison three major sports papers Marca, Mundo Deportivo and Sport, borrowing the headline to describe Messi compatriot Maradona's controversial 1986 World Cup quarterfinals goal, scored with a handball.
"Starting out an article by saying that Messi is hard to explain seems unacceptable, but that is the closest to the truth," Marca apologised in its match report, which listed past records set by the 24-year-old.
Messi's record five goals in a match came after he matched the most number of goals in the Champions League last season, with 12.
Other players had scored five goals in a match in the past under the former European Cup, but no-one has managed the feat since 1993 under the current Champions League format.
"And yesterday he had a headache," noted the Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo.
"The doctor gave him a painkiller, perhaps it was a Bayer aspirin, and off he ran," it joked, recalling that Messi had complained of a headache before the clash.
Under the headline "Hurricane Messi" the leading daily El Pais said: "No-one demands more of himself than Messi, who transforms every match into a show, and takes criticism for the days he does not shine."
Marca noted that Messi was close to breaking yet another record, the 235 goals scored by club great Cesar Rodriguez : "Seven. Just seven goals separate 'The Flea' from the biggest scorer in Barca's history, Cesar Rodriguez.
"Messi is a machine who crushes everything in his path."
Source: AFP
