‘A genius at work’ — Lionel Messi scored 2 outrageous goals in dominant display against Juventus

Lionel Messi was at his very best in Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Juventus.Getty Images

Lionel Messi ran riot over Juventus on Tuesday evening.

The Argentine forward was involved in all three of Barcelona’s goals as he scored twice and engineered an assist for team-mate Ivan Rakitić.

Messi was made to wait until the 45th minute before he was able to score Barcelona’s opening goal.

It was his first-ever goal against veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and boy, was it worth the wait.

Messi, 30, played a superb one-two with team-mate Luis Suárez.

He then took a touch to control the ball and unleashed a quick left-footed shot that befuddled Buffon and rolled into the corner of the goal.

You can watch the goal here:

After supplying the pass that led to Rakitić’s goal, Messi scored again in the 69th minute when he bested the Juventus defence to strike again from a similar distance.

Here’s Messi’s second goal:

BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand lauded the magic of Messi. “I feel we’re lucky to see him perform in this era,” the former Manchester United and England defender said.

“He’s not isolated in any area of the park, he’s everywhere. He attacks teams, causes havoc, and is a genius at work.”

Messi now has 96 goals and 25 assists from 116 appearances in the Champions League.