Lionel Messi’s amazingly quick shot got FC Barcelona got off to a great start against AC Milan in the second leg of the Round of 16 of Champions League Tuesday evening.

After gaining possession at the edge of the box, Messi deftly maneuvered through a crowd of five Milan white shirts and buried a shot in the top corner for his first goal five minutes in.

Messi’s second goal, a low shot off a move following a pass from Andres Iniesta, put Barcelona up, 2-0, at halftime, and even on aggregate.

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David Villa has been admitted to the hospital with kidney stones. (Lluis Gene, AFP/Getty Images)

Barcelona forward David Villa’s return to the starting eleven has been scuppered once again, this time by an ill-timed health problem.

The Spanish club announced Monday that Villa has been admitted to a hospital for treatment of a nephritic colic infection, known colloquially as kidney stones. Villa’s hospital stay means he has officially been listed as doubtful for the team’s upcoming La Liga match against Granada on Saturday.

Villa has endured a stretch of tough luck after a scintillating 2010-2011 season in which he scored 18 goals in 34 appearances for Barcelona. The forward broke his tibia in a Club World Cup game against Al-Sadd of Qatar at the end of 2011 and has since struggled to break back in to the starting line-up both for Barcelona and the Spanish national team.

Villa started and scored in Barcelona’s last game, a 6-1 demolition of Getafe on Sunday.

Lionel Messi scored his record-breaking 86th goal of 2012 Sunday. (Jorge Guerrero, Getty Images)

Lionel Messi has scored more goals in a calendar than anyone in history, ever.

The Argentinian striker scored his 85th and 86th goals of 2012 on Sunday in Barcelona’s game against Real Betis, tying and then breaking the record set by German forward Gerd Müller for goals scored in a year in club and international play. The record-breaker came in typically stylish fashion, with midfielder Andres Iniesta supplying Messi with a clever back-heel pass at the top of the box. Messi’s shot made its way through a crowd of Betis defenders, past the goalkeeper, and into the back of the net.

Fourteen of Messi’s goals came with the Argentinian National Team, while the remaining 82 came with Barcelona. Messi already has 29 goals this season for his club in 24 games.

GGGGGGGOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!!!! GOLAZO! LEO LEO LEO MESSI!!! #86 #FCBLive—
FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 09, 2012

Leo Messi now holds the record for the most goals scored in a calendar year (86). #FCBLive—
FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 09, 2012

Argentine forward Lionel Messi was the AP’s top rated soccer player, and his team, FC Barcelona, the number one club according to a panel of 18 international writers. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP)

The Associated Press released its first global soccer rankings on Tuesday, and Lionel Messi was the top rated player, and and his club, FC Barcelona, the number 1 team. The rankings took into account performances for the week ending Oct. 29.

The rankings are determined by a panel of 18 international writers. Each panelist chooses 10 teams and players; 10 points are awarded for each first-place vote and one point is awarded for a 10th-place vote. Messi received 140 points out of the possible 180, 29 points ahead of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo in second place. Messi scored two goals in Barcelona’s 5-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

“Shame on Messi,” said Filip Bondy, a panelist who writes for the New York Daily News. “He scored only twice. At this rate, he’ll only be the best player in the world…forever.”

The top three play in Spain–Atletico Madrid’s striker, Radamel Falcao was third with 79 points–and all ten play for European clubs. All of the top teams are European also. Atletico Madrid came in second with 109 points and Manchester United was close behind with 105 points.