Lionel Messi’s stoppage time winner for Paris Saint-Germain was good enough by itself, but made astonishing by the numbers behind it.

The Argentine magician did very little in 90 minutes during the 4-3 win over Lille, but stole the show with seconds to spare.
Winning a free-kick just outside of the Lille box, Messi lined the ball up and it appeared far too central for him to curl it around goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier.

However, instead of naturally aiming for the top left corner, he bent the ball into the bottom right, and couldn’t have placed it any better as it glanced off the post and in.

And in the stands, Messi’s wife, Antonella Rocuzzo, was among the thousands in attendance who could not contain their delight at the dramatic finish to the game.

The stats came rolling in with the free-kick being his 699th career goal, coming shortly after his double in the victorious World Cup final.
And it was also the 35-year-old’s 40th goal from outside the box since the start of the 2017/18 season.

That is incredibly 20 more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues during that period.
Kevin De Bruyne is second on 20 goals from outside of the box, while 22 of Messi’s long-range efforts have been free-kicks, six more than James Ward-Prowse.

On top of that, since the start of the 2018/19 season, Messi has 16 free-kick goals, with no club in Europe boasting a better record, as Southampton sit level on the same number.
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The goal was so big for PSG, who were on a run of three defeats, that manager Christoph Galtier even joined in with the celebrations.

Messi got big hugs from a delighted Kylian Mbappe and Sergio Ramos, before Galtier ran down the touchline to join in.

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It wasn’t all good news for PSG, who lost Neymar to injury ahead of the second leg of their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, but with Messi and Mbappe scoring, it might not matter.
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Messi has officially scored his 61st career free-kick goals. It's an impressive feat considering the fact that he wasn't a free-kick specialist at the early stage of his career. He went an extra mile to learn and master the art of free-kick. Imagine the numbers if he had mastered the art at an early stage?
God bless the GOAT.