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Lionel Messi matched Gerd Muller's long-standing record for scoring the most goals for one club in the top five European leagues on Sunday, netting the second in Barcelona's 2-0 win against Villarreal. Muller scored 525 goals in 572 appearances for Bayern Munich between 1965 and 1979, a record which had remained untouched for nearly 40 years. But Messi's goal at the Estadio de la Ceramica drew him level with the German great. Barca had taken the lead against Villarreal though Luis Suarez after Daniel Raba had been shown a straight red card for the home side for a challenge on Sergio Busquets. Messi then added his side's second in the 83rd minute, taking his goal tally for Barca to 525 in 605 games. The goal was also Messi's 14th in La Liga this season and his 18th in all competitions for his club. In total, he has now scored 49 goals for Barcelona this year, which is more than any other player from the top five European leagues in 2017, according to Opta. Messi is already the top scorer in Barcelona (525) and La Liga history (362) but is behind Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to the Champions League. Ronaldo leads the way with 114, while Messi has scored 97. After wins for Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Real this weekend, it was important that Barca got back to winning ways against Villarreal following back-to-back draws against Valencia and Celta Vigo. The three points for Ernesto Valverde's side allowed them to maintain their five-point lead over Valencia, with Atletico and Real six and eight points back from the league leaders, respectively.
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