Barcelona is determined to win the century battle, as a victory against Real Madrid while trailing by 4 points would narrow the gap to 1 point, keeping their hopes alive for the league title. For Messi, tying Sánchez's goal record at the Bernabéu is also a huge motivation.
Messi has been in excellent form recently, having completed a hat-trick against Osasuna, bringing his total to 232 goals in La Liga, making him the all-time top scorer for Barcelona. If he scores 2 goals in the century battle, Messi will tie Sánchez's record of 234 goals, thus becoming the second-highest scorer in La Liga history alongside the Mexican forward.
After returning from injury, Messi quickly found his form, scoring twice against Rayo Vallecano on February 15 to tie the record of 227 goals held by Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano. Just a week later, Messi scored once against Real Sociedad, tying Raúl's goal record. A month later, Messi could potentially tie or even surpass Hugo Sánchez's 20-year-old record. Once he surpasses the Mexican striker, Messi's goal will be to become the all-time top scorer in La Liga—surpassing the 251 goals scored by Telmo Zarra, who played for Athletic Bilbao for 15 seasons. Zarra set this record in 1955, and Messi is just 19 goals away from it. Notably, the figure of 232 goals comes from Marca, while Wikipedia's statistics show Messi has scored 233 goals, just 1 goal shy of Sánchez.
