Lionel Messi’s left foot scored the goal that placed Barcelona into the quarterfinals when the team won against Manchester City in the Champions League.

Barcelona has been in a slump lately, and Messi’s winning kick has broken the spell. The kick came when there was just about 20 minutes left on the clock. The ball dropped near Messi and he swiftly lifted the ball into the net and propelled his team to the quarter-finals.

Messi has been doing well, scoring in all the games in this season’s Champions League – a total of eight goals in five matches. He also holds the title for the player with most goals in the Champion League with a total of 67. Some players, coaches, and commentators regard Messi as the greatest footballer of all time.

Team Barcelona’s bus arrived at the venue at 7:10 p.m. Messi was the last to get off the bus together with Cesc Fábregas who has been Messi’s teammate since they were 13 years old. According to Angel Cappa, the Argentinian coach, Messi sometimes looks like he has lost his passion for the game. When the teams shook hands before the game, Messi appeared poker-faced while munching on food.

Statistics also show that Messi’s rate of goals has declined throughout the last four seasons. Overall, his play today is only a third of his play in 2011 to 2012, which was his most active season.

Vincent Kompany of Manchester City said that Barcelona’s recent decline should not be the focus, as “The beast might wake.” Indeed, the beast in Messi has awakened, as people in the stadium noticed his intensity and aggressiveness just a few minutes into the game.

No ‘Messing’ around Lionel Messi’s goal helps Barca knock Man City out of @ChampionsLeague: http://t.co/W7YrAK9J9l pic.twitter.com/OV2t7c0m8z

— FOX Sports 1 (@FOXSports1) March 12, 2014

With Messi scoring a goal, Barcelona has risen out of their slump and moves on to their next match.

Image via Wikimedia Commons