Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi kept the GOAT debate alive with sensational goals on the same day. Messi, who reached 700 career goals, scored with a cheeky panenka spot-kick to reach the milestone and become only the seventh player in football’s history to have achieved the feat. Miles away, Ronaldo scored a screamer to take Juventus to 3-1 win over Genoa and maintain their four-point lead at the top of the Serie A point table as the club chases a record ninth successive league title. Messi though wasn’t so lucky and despite his milestone goal, Barcelona played a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid, virtually knocking themselves out of a third straight La Liga title.  Cristiano Ronaldo’s Screamer Helps Juventus Win Serie A 2019-20 Tie Against Genoa by 3-1, Netizens Hail The Portugal Star (Watch Goal Video).

But despite the disappointing result, Messi was brilliant individually. The Argentine, who turned 33 two weeks ago, also ended his three-match goal drought with a penalty goal that also made him only the second active player after Cristiano Ronaldo to score 700 or more career goals for club or country. Messi has scored 630 times in 724 appearances for Barcelona and added another 70 in 128 caps for Argentina. Lionel Messi Scores 700th Career Goal During Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid 2–2 La Liga 2019–20 Draw, Twitterati Hail the Argentine on Incredible Achievement (Watch Video).

Two Legends Scoring on Same Night

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GOAT Streak

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Records

From a Messi Fan to Ronaldo Fan

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In Exclusive List

Ronaldo though is far ahead and had already reached the 700-goal mark in 2019. On Tuesday, he scored his 725th goal with a spectacular strike from outside the box to double Juventus’ lead. The club eventually won the game 3-1 with Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa also getting on the scoresheet.

Ex-Czech Republic and Austria footballer Josef Bican leads the all-time list with 805 career goals followed by Brazilian Romario (772), Pele (767), Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas (764), Germany’s Gerd Mueller (735), Ronaldo (725) and now Lionel Messi (700) as the only seven players to complete 700 or more career goals in football’s history.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 01, 2020 09:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).