Lionel Messi equals Raul's record with 71st Champions League goal

Barcelona and Real Madrid, forever connected. Just as it should be.

Lionel Messi tied the all-time Champions League scoring record Wednesday against Ajax, finding the net twice to bring his tally in the competition to 71, equaling the mark set by Real Madrid legend Raul.

His first of the match, scored in the 36th minute, was the most unorthodox of goals the tiny Argentine is likely to score. After a scramble in the Ajax area saw goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen woefully out of position, Messi got onto the end of a lofted cross to head the ball home.

The goal that actually tied the record, however, was much more familiar.

Raul, who spent the twilight of his European career at Schalke after leaving the Spanish capital, scored his 71 goals in 142 matches between 1995 and 2011. Messi, by comparison, needed an astonishingly low total of just 90 games to reach the record-tying mark. 

The Argentine attacker, still just 27 years old, will now look to extend his lead atop the scoring chart, and in the process keep perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo from overtaking him.

The Real Madrid star has scored 70 Champions League goals of his own, and will look to surpass Messi later this month against FC Basel - after not scoring on Tuesday against Liverpool. In truth, the two men could swap command of the historic record for quite some time, with neither looking likely to slow down even in the slightest.

But for now, the joint-record, and the plaudits, belong to Messi.