Lionel Messi called the free kick to net his 600th goal for Barcelona "spectacular" after the Blaugrana beat Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday.
Messi netted twice, his 599th and 600th goals for the club, after Luis Suarez had broken the deadlock in the opening period, putting the LaLiga champions on the verge of the Champions League final.
Messi's milestone 600th goal – 14 years to the day since his first for the club – was a brilliant free-kick whipped into the top corner from 30 yards out with eight minutes remaining.
"The truth is that it went spectacular, I looked and I had the fortune," Messi admitted.
We are not worthy 🙇♂️
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) May 1, 2019
Messi scores his 600th for Barcelona and it's a beauty 🙌 pic.twitter.com/utF9yNgASV
Liverpool had their chances when 1-0 behind, with James Milner twice denied by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who also thwarted Mohamed Salah.
And after substitute Roberto Firmino had an effort cleared off the line, Salah slammed the loose ball against a post as Liverpool missed out on an away goal Messi felt would have been crucial.
"Above all, [it was important] they did not score," said Messi.
"They pushed us in the second half, although they did not create many chances but they pushed us hard."
How did Liverpool not score here? pic.twitter.com/bYamA5o1ee
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) May 1, 2019
