• Argentinian becomes first player to score five in a tie
• Cypriot champions beat Lyon in penalty shoot out
Lionel Messi on Wednesday night became the first man to score five goals in a Champions League game as Barcelona beat Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
The first five-goal haul of Messi's career took his Champions League tally to 49 and moved him to joint fourth on the all-time European Cup list, alongside Alfredo di Stefano. The Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said: "He's the best [ever] – there is no other like him. The numbers speak for themselves. One day he'll score six."
Barça, the defending champions, led 3-1 from the first leg in Leverkusen and the three-time world player of the year put the tie beyond doubt when scoring two in the first half. He added three more after the interval while the substitute Cristian Tello got the other two to complete a 10-2 aggregate score.
Messi scored his first in the 25th minute when he flipped an almost playful chip over the Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno. He then curled a left-foot shot through a crowd of defenders for his second in the 42nd minute.
The Argentinian completed his hat-trick four minutes after half-time, when he collected a Cesc Fábregas pass in the area and finished with another chip – this time with his weaker right foot.
Messi showed his goal-poaching instincts when he took advantage of a slip by Leno to score his fourth – and repeat the feat he managed against Arsenal two years ago. But there was still more to come and even Guardiola shook his head in disbelief when he added the fifth, curling a left-foot shot out of Leno's reach in the 85th minute.
The Argentine is only the fourth player to score five goals in a European Cup match. The Dane Soren Lerby was the last to do it, netting five times for Ajax in a 10-0 win against Omonia Nicosia in the 1979-80 competition.
Another Nicosia club were involved in a spot of history making on Wednesday night as Apoel became the first Cypriot team to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
They beat Lyon after a penalty shoot-out. The goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis was the hero as his two saves gave Apoel a 4-3 victory. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Apoel levelled the aggregate score on nine minutes when Gustavo Manduca tapped in a Constantinos Charalambides cross. There were no further goals, though Apoel finished extra-time with 10 men after Manduca was sent off. His first booking was for removing his shirt after he scored.
In the shoot-out Chiotis made two near-identical saves, diving to his left to block penalties from Alexandre Lacazette and Michel Bastos, while Apoel converted all four of their spot kicks.