10 Lionel Messi Moments to Marvel at from the 2012-13 Season

Lionel Messi is the best footballer on the planet right now, and every time he steps onto the pitch for Barcelona, he is expected to produce some sort of individual brilliance. 

The 2012-13 season has seen Messi become a more dominant player than he ever was. The 25-year-old Argentinian, yes, he is still just 25, has set plenty of individual records and has led Barcelona to the top of La Liga and into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

So far this season, Messi has played in 43 matches in all competitions for Barcelona and has recorded 55 goals. 

Out of all those memorable moments, 10 have been chosen as Messi's best from this season. 

10. The Opener

Messi and Barcelona opened the 2012-13 season with a La Liga match against Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou. 

In that match, Messi did not take long to put his name on the score sheet. In the 11th minute, Messi struck a shot with his left foot past Sociedad keeper Claudio Bravo.

Just five minutes later, Messi delivered his second goal of the season with another left-footed strike. 

The Blaugrana went on to win their first match of the season by an eye-catching 5-1 score. 

9. The Provider

On September 29 against Sevilla, Messi did not score a goal in Barcelona's 3-2 victory, but he did provide two crucial assists. 

With Barca down by a goal in the 89th minute, Messi sent a through ball toward the feet of Cesc Fabregas, and the midfielder then equalized the match. 

In the third minute of stoppage time, Messi once again provided one of his teammates with an assist. This time it was David Villa who benefited from a Messi assist as he gave Barcelona the lead late in the match. 

After two more minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle was blown, and Barcelona left the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium with a victory. 

8. The Combination

In the last La Liga match that Barcelona played in, Messi was up to his old tricks against Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou. 

Messi's fantastic combination in attack with David Villa showed up once again as the Argentinian provided the Spaniard with an assist on Barca's first goal in the 25th minute. 

On Barca's final two goals of the match, it was Villa who would became the provider and Messi the goalscorer. 

Messi scored in the 40th and 57th minutes to hand Barcelona their second win of the season over Rayo Vallecano. 

7. The Second Half Against Atletico

By the first time Barcelona and Atletico Madrid played each other on December 16, the gap between first and second place in the La Liga table was already large. 

By the time the match at the Camp Nou ended, Barca extended their lead over Atletico Madrid in the La Liga table by three more points.

With his team up by just a goal in the second half, Messi stepped up to the plate and delivered two second-half goals to bury the comeback hopes of Atletico. 

Messi's goals came in the 57th and 88th minutes as Barca marched on to victory. 

6. The Shootout

One of the most exciting matches in La Liga all season came on October 20 as Deportivo La Coruna hosted Barcelona at the Estadio Riazor. 

Barcelona busted out to a three-goal lead in the first 18 minutes with Messi capping off the incredible start.

Deportivo answered back with two first-half goals before Messi scored again in the 43rd minute. 

The hosts once again answered back in the 47th minute through Pizzi before Messi shut down the Deportivo comeback in the 77th minute.

Deportivo got closer to Barca in the 79th minute through a Jordi Alba own goal, but they were not able to complete the comeback, and the Blaugrana left A Coruna with three points. 

5. The El Clasico Brace

The October 7 version of El Clasico at the Camp Nou saw the two best players in the world carry their respective clubs to a 2-2 draw. 

Cristiano Ronaldo drew first blood for Real Madrid in the 23rd minute before Messi countered eight minutes later with a goal of his own. 

The two superstars of world football also traded goals in the second half with Messi giving Barca the lead in the 61st minute and Ronaldo scoring five minutes later to equalize for Los Blancos. 

In the three other meetings with Real Madrid this season, Messi and Barcelona failed to take down their Spanish rival. 

4. The Resilience Against the Russians

In their first UEFA Champions League group stage match of the season, Barcelona hosted Spartak Moscow at the Camp Nou. 

The Blaugrana got off to a flying start with a goal by Cristian Tello in the 14th minute, but their Russian opponents came back to net two goals before Messi took over the match. 

Messi propelled Barca past the Russian Premier League club with two goals in a nine-minute span. 

Messi kick-started the comeback in the 71st minute before he sealed the door shut on Spartak's upset hopes with his 80th-minute goal. 

3. The Four-Goal Masterpiece

Lionel Messi has scored more than two goals in a match 17 times this season. He has scored three times in a match once, and he has even scored four goals in single match. 

On January 27, Messi unleashed a four-goal outburst on Osasuna in front of his home fans at the Camp Nou. 

Messi opened the scoring in the 11th minute before netting a penalty 17 minutes later. Messi's two goals in the second half came two minutes apart from each other. 

Messi's dangerous left foot wreaked havoc on Osasuna for the entire match. For three of Messi's four goals, Los Rojillos were playing with 10 men after Alejandro Arribas was booked twice in the first 28 minutes of the match. 

2. The Silencing of the Doubters

For the three weeks after Barcelona fell at the San Siro to AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, Messi heard plenty of criticism that he could not play well against Italian clubs.

Messi silenced all of his critics early on in the second leg of the tie as he sent a shot past AC Milan keeper Christian Abbiati into the back of the net in the fifth minute. 

Before the half-time whistle blew, Messi delivered another piece of individual brilliance with his 39th-minute goal. 

After 90 minutes of play, Messi's spectacular double combined with goals from David Villa and Jordi Alba sent Barcelona flying into the quarterfinals of the competition where they will face Paris St. Germain. 

1. The Record Breaker

For the early part of the La Liga season, Messi was chasing the record set by Gerd Muller for most goals in a single season. Muller scored 85 in 1972, and Messi's superb form led him closer to the record than anyone else in history had gotten before.

With all eyes on Messi, the Argentinian did not disappoint as he finally broke Muller's record on December 9 against Real Betis. 

Messi tied the German's record in the 16th minute, and then nine minutes later, he forever cemented his name in the record books. 

Messi would not stop at 86 goals. He ended up scoring five more goals in Barcelona's final three matches of 2012 to set the new record for goals in a calendar year at 91. 

What do you think is Messi's best moment of the 2012-13 season?

Comment below or leave me a comment on Twitter: @JTansey90.