Lamine Yamal matches Lionel Messi in a 21st-century La Liga goalscoring feat not even Cristiano Ronaldo achieved
Lamine Yamal led FC Barcelona back to victory on Sunday, scoring another brace in a 4-2 away win against Levante UD. With his latest two-goal performance, the 19-year-old phenom matched Lionel Messi in a 21st-century La Liga goalscoring milestone that eluded even Cristiano Ronaldo.
On Sunday, September 13, Barcelona visited Levante for Matchday 5 of the 2026-27 La Liga campaign. The Blaugrana struck early, with Xavi Espart opening the scoring in the fifth minute. In the 19th minute, Fermin Lopez slipped a through ball to Raphinha, who controlled a deflected pass, rounded the goalkeeper, and centered the ball for Yamal to tap in his first goal from inside the six-yard box.
Early in the second half, Yamal drew a penalty after being brought down inside the box by Levante defender Aissa Mandi, who had initially fallen while attempting to block a shot. Yamal stepped up and converted the spot kick, completing his second double of the afternoon as Barcelona closed out a 4-2 win to maintain their perfect start atop the La Liga table.
With the performance, Lamine Yamal became just the second player in the 21st century to record three braces within the first five matches of a La Liga season. The display marked his third consecutive multi-goal outing in top-flight play, following back-to-back braces in a 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano and a 5-0 victory against Valencia.
The historic 2012-13 precedent set by Lionel Messi
The only other player to accomplish the feat this century was Lionel Messi during his historic 2012-13 campaign with Barcelona. During that run, the Argentine legend opened the season with three braces across his first four appearances, featuring against Real Sociedad (5-1) on Matchday 1, Osasuna (2-1) on Matchday 2, and Getafe (4-1) on Matchday 4.
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While Yamal is still in the early stages of establishing his long-term scoring profile, his blistering start provides strong momentum for his overall trajectory. The 2012-13 campaign stood as Messi’s second-highest scoring year in domestic play with 46 La Liga goals, trailing only his record 50-goal season in 2011-12.
Cristiano Ronaldo and a streak never achieved
Cristiano Ronaldo stands as the second-highest goalscorer in La Liga history with 311 goals, trailing only Messi’s all-time mark of 474, but the Portuguese forward never recorded three braces within his first five league appearances. However, Ronaldo holds his own historic scoring start that remains a high bar for any young winger to match.
During the opening stretch of the 2014-15 La Liga season, Ronaldo missed one of Real Madrid’s first five fixtures yet still erupted for nine goals. He scored single goals against Cordoba CF and Atletico Madrid, netted a hat-trick against RC Deportivo La Coruna on Matchday 4, and capped the run by scoring four goals against Elche CF on Matchday 5.
