The opening night of the 2017/18 Champions League Group Stages certainly wasn't a quiet one for Lionel Messi. The Argentine scored twice but also picked up a stupid yellow card.
It's hardly surprising that Lionel Messi stole a majority of the headlines on the first night of Champions League football proper since the final in June when Real Madrid beat Juventus.
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With Cristiano Ronaldo and Los Blancos not playing till Wednesday night the man who is second on the all time scoring list for the competition took the spotlight.
Messi celebrates scoring the opening goal of the game. Image: PA
Barca were playing last season's runners up Juventus in a repeat of the pairs quarter final meetings from last season in which the Old Lady were successful.
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There was none of that tonight with Messi scoring twice and Ivan Rakitic getting the other as Ernesto Valverde's side made a mockery of those who have written them off for this season.
However there was still a slight black mark for Messi as he got booked for waving an imaginary yellow card at the referee to suggest Miralem Pjanic should be booked:
It of course didn't effect the match at all with the Catalan side opening their account in the competition they'll be desperate to stop Real Madrid winning for the third time in a row.
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But in the future of the competition it could hurt the Argentine in getting to 100 goals in the Champions League should he get another yellow and then a suspension.
Messi has started the season in incredible form. Image: PA
Earlier in the match Messi had scored his first ever goal against Gianluigi Buffon, having shot blanks in their previous four meetings:
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They'll be a lot more yellow cards given to Messi's opponents if he carries on the way he's started this season, but he should probably avoid trying to get them booked with gestures!
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Barcelona, Messi, Juventus, Champions League
