The superlatives were in full flow on social media as Barcelona's Lionel Messi hit his 600th goal for the club with a stunning free-kick against Liverpool in their 3-0 first-leg Champions League semi-final win at the Camp Nou.

Messi netted twice on the night, dribbling into an empty net after Luis Suarez hit the crossbar to put Barca 2-0 up. But it was the little Argentinian's second goal of the night that had social media buzzing.

Messi stepped up and planted a 25-yard free-kick perfectly into the top left-hand corner, leaving Liverpool keeper Alisson Becker grasping at air as Barca went 3-0 up in the tie.

The Barcelona skipper's sublime set-piece strike was the moment of the night as Barcelona secured a significant first-leg lead to take to the return leg at Anfield.

And fans flocked to social media to pay tribute to Messi's superb second strike as he reached 600 Barca goals in fine style.

One fan tweeted: "This guy is a god," while another gushed: "Greatest player of our generation. All hail the king Messi."

Messi's landmark achievement saw him become only the seventh player in history to score 600 goals for a single club, joining Josef Bican, Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Gerd Muller, Romario and Cristiano Ronaldo on that exclusive list.

Leicester City midfielder James Maddison was watching the game live on television and tweeted: "I'm honestly so grateful to be in the same era as Lionel Messi and to watch him live on my television."

Former professional player Stephen Elliott concurred, saying: "Messi and Messi only is the reason this game has finished 3-0. There is nothing and nobody ever who has even been close to being as good as him!"

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