Lionel Messi has already scored four free kicks in LaLiga this season, marking him out as a true master of the art.
But RCDE Espanyol de Barcelona supporters preparing for the upcoming city derby at the RCDE Stadium are already well aware of his accuracy from dead balls around the box.
Messi has a whopping 22 goals in his 25 LaLiga city derbies for Barça, losing just once to Espanyol since he made his debut in the fixture back in October 2004 as an 18-year-old. That makes the current Barcelona captain, unsurprisingly, the all-time record scorer in the fixture, with his tally including two hat-tricks and a spectacular four-goal haul in 2011/12.
Last season he scored twice in two meetings with the neighbours at both the Camp Nou and the RCDE Stadium. Remarkably, three of his four strikes were from free kicks and included the unveiling of a 'panenka free-kick,' something previously unseen in world football.
No rival has suffered more direct free kick goals at Messi's hands (or feet!) than his cross-town rivals. Next up are Athletic Club and Sevilla with five. So, with apologies to Espanyol fans, here's a look back at the many different ways he's found the net from a long-range dead ball in the derby.
05/05/2012
Messi very calmly placed the ball, almost 30 yards out, and then carefully guided what would become a trademark strike over the defensive wall and out of the reach of keeper Cristian Alvarez's left hand to open the scoring at the Camp Nou. Messi would later complete his 'poker' with two penalties and a neat finish for a 4-0 Barça victory.
06/01/2016
A cracking Copa del Rey first leg at the RCDE Stadium was 1-1 coming up to half-time, when Messi unwrapped another present for blaugrana fans. Opting for more power than usual, he smashed a 25-yard free kick into the back of the net via the underside of the crossbar, leaving goalkeeper Pau Lopez powerless.
08/05/2016
It was goalless at the Camp Nou with just seven minutes played when Messi stood over a central free kick just outside the 'D.' It took just a two-step run-up to curl the ball over the wall and high into the top corner, and Barça were on their way to a 5-0 'derbi' victory which kept Luis Enrique's team on track to win the 2015/16 LaLiga Santander title.
08/12/2018
Everybody including the Espanyol wall and goalkeeper Diego Lopez knew what might happen but could do nothing to stop it as Messi scooped the ball over the jumping players and out of the reach of Lopez's left hand - with such accuracy and curl that it hit the side-netting inches from the left top corner.
08/12/2018
Later in the same game, Messi stood over another free kick, this time in a less promising position and angle for his left-foot. Or so you might think… He confidently flighted the ball over the wall and into Lopez's top right corner, leaving the beaten goalkeeper sat on the floor shaking his head in disbelief.
30/03/2019
Espanyol had held Barça scoreless for 70 minutes at the Camp Nou before a foul inches outside the penalty area gave Messi a chance. With little space to play with, he conjured up a 'panenka' chip which confused Espanyol defender David Lopez on the line to nestle the ball into the back of the net.
