3 things from Tuesday's Champions League action: Aguero keeps City alive

Argentina may not have won the World Cup this summer, but on Tuesday the South American country could shoot a sly grin over at their German counterparts, following a pair of incredible performances from Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi.

One smashed yet another record, while the other wrote the latest chapter of his dramatic career. All in a day's work for the two Argentine's.

theScore's Carlo Campo and Gianluca Nesci run down three things you need to know from Tuesday's Champions League action.

The legend of Sergio Aguero continues to grow

Gianluca Nesci: Sergio Aguero FC.

That's the consensus after the Argentine striker put Manchester City on his back once again. Continuing a trend that has developed this season at the Etihad, he lifted the Citizens to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich with a clinical hat trick.

Aguero, who now has 17 goals in as many matches (EPL and Champions League) this season, found the net in the 21st minute from the spot. He won the penalty after a smart play to shield the ball led to Mehdi Benatia making an ill-advised slide tackle and crashing into him.

The defender was shown a straight red card for the rash challenge, and City looked to be in the clear.

And then Bayern reminded everyone why they are regarded by most as the best team, or at least one of the top two, on the planet. Down to ten men, Pep Guardiola's side put on a masterclass for much of the contest, passing City into submission and taking a 2-1 lead through Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski.

Heading into the final five minutes, this was an accurate representation of the contest:

As the clock ticked down and the notoriously silent Etihad crowd grew nervous and frustrated late in the contest, Aguero again came to the fore.

Bayern, so impermeable, so efficient despite being down a man, did things that would be considered blasphemous if recounted to someone who did not see the events for themselves: they made glaring, terrible mistakes.

First it was Alonso, who gifted Aguero the equalizer in the 85th minute.

And then it was Jerome Boateng, who had been immense all evening long:

Take nothing away from Aguero; he had to finish both opportunities. The tying goal, in particular - on his weaker foot and with the best goalkeeper in the world, a colossus of a man, cutting off the angle - was superb.

The result, coupled with Roma conceding a last-second goal against CSKA Moscow in their match earlier in the day, sees all three teams tied on five points in Group E.

City will travel to the Italian capital next month in their final match, now knowing that a draw will, almost inconceivably, be enough to qualify for the next stage of the tournament.

Bayern are already sitting back, feet up, having qualified for the knockout round. Perhaps the Russian side can pull off the massive upset at the Allianz Arena.

Or perhaps, as has been the case so many times before, Superman Aguero will answer the call one more time, and add another chapter to his ever-growing legacy on the blue side of Manchester.

Words can't describe Lionel Messi's greatness, but numbers can

Gianluca Nesci: Lionel Messi poses a problem.

It's quite the conundrum trying to describe something that's inherently indescribable. The English language may do so eventually, but it has yet to conjure up a word that is worthy of Messi.

Barcelona's living legend added another record to his already bloated mantle on Tuesday, firing home a hat-trick against APOEL that saw him surpass Raul as the greatest goalscorer in the history of the Champions League. 

Coming into the match tied with the former Real Madrid captain on 71 markers, Messi found the net once in the opening half at the Neo GSP Stadium, before adding two more after the interval to set the new standard at 74 (and counting).

To think, it all started with this:

Just 90 matches later, the Argentine has scored more goals in the Champions League than any player in history.

In case you were wondering, Barcelona waltzed to a 4-0 victory in the contest - with Luis Suarez scoring his first goal for the club - and have now set up a showdown against Paris Saint-Germain on the final Matchday to see who will claim top spot in Group F. 

Chelsea thrash Schalke, book place in knockout stages

Carlo Campo: Pour one out for Roberto di Matteo.

Taking on the club that he led to Champions League glory in 2012, Di Matteo, who took over at Schalke in early October, was forced to watch in agony as his side conceded goal after goal and ultimately fell 5-0 to Chelsea at the Stadion Gelsenkirchen.

It took next to no time for Chelsea to open the scoring as John Terry bagged his 10th career goal in the competition with a header off a corner kick in the second minute. By doing so, Terry became only the fourth defender ever to have scored at least 10 goals in the Champions League.

After Willian finished off an excellent passing sequence and Jan Kirchhoff gifted Chelsea a third score with an own goal, it was Didier Drogba's turn to enter the record books with a casual finish into an open net in the 76th minute.

Ramires added Chelsea's fifth goal only two minutes later, and while it's easy to joke that the result was no way to treat an opposing manager who led them to the title only three campaigns ago, it should be noted that there was definitely an element of respect for Di Matteo from the visiting supporters throughout the match.

With the result, Chelsea have secured their place at the top of Group G, while Schalke will have to wait until the final matchday to decide their fate as they visit Maribor.