La Liga: Messi’s Brace in Barca 2-1 Win Over Betis; Breaks Muller Record

Argentine footballing magician Lionel Messi scored his 85th and 86th goals of the season, breaking the 40-year-old record of 85 goals in one calendar year set by Germany’s Gerd Muller in 1972, in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Real Betis in their La Liga encounter played on December 10.

Ruben Castro scored the lone goal for Real Betis in an evenly fought match played at Estadio Benito Villamarin. With this win, Barcelona maintained their 11 points lead over arch rivals Real Madrid, who won their weekend match 3-2 away against Real Valladolid.

Messi now has 86 in 66 matches this season, 74 goals for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina. Messi has also become Barcelona's all-time leading goalscorer in La Liga with 192 goals.