Lionel Messi made his 64th appearance in the group stages of the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven last night - an unremarkable statistic but for the fact that he marked the occasion with his 61st, 62nd and 63rd group-stage goals.

The hat-trick was Messi's eighth in the competition, taking him one clear of perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo in that particular arms race between the two greatest players of the generation.

It was an emphatic reminder that the Barcelona superstar remains at the very highest level despite his omission from this year's FIFA finalists for the Best Men's Player of the Year award.

Here, Sports Mole looks back at all of Messi's eight Champions League trebles.

Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal (April 6, 2010)

Messi's first hat-trick in the Champions League was arguably his most memorable as he stole the show with a four-goal haul against Arsenal in the 2009-10 quarter-final second leg at Camp Nou.

The incredible individual display contained goals of all kinds; the first a thunderous finish into the top corner, the second a calm right-footed finish from inside the area, the third an impudent dink over the onrushing keeper and a fourth a powerful low drive from a rebound.

Viktoria Plzen 0-4 Barcelona (November 1, 2011)

Messi notched his first away Champions League hat-trick against Czech side Viktoria Plzen, starting off with a penalty which he coolly tucked into the bottom corner.

The second goal saw him exchange passes with a teammate in trademark fashion before firing low past the keeper, and he completed the treble by rounding off a fine team move, taking the ball past the keeper before slotting into an empty net.

Barcelona 7-1 Bayer Leverkusen (March 7, 2012)

Messi became the first player to score five goals in a single Champions League game during his side's last 16 second leg against Leverkusen in March 2012, and the German outfit would have known that he was in the mood when he scooped a brilliant lobbed finish over the keeper for his first of the night.

The Argentine went on to score another perfectly-weighted lob on his right foot to complete his hat-trick, with two trademark finishes from the edge of the box and a rebound from a tight angle completing the five-goal haul - the last of which was his 50th Champions League goal.

Barcelona 4-0 Ajax (September 18, 2013)

The maestro showed his full range of skills once again with this hat-trick against Ajax, the first goal of which came with a stunning free kick in off the post.

Messi doubled his personal tally with a solo effort which saw him cut inside from the right and beat two defenders before firing home, and he then secured the matchball by calmly passing a finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

APOEL 0-4 Barcelona (November 25, 2014)

Messi's left foot is arguably the most deadly weapon in football, but his right isn't bad either, as he proved with this hat-trick which came entirely from his 'weaker' foot.

Admittedly, though, it was not his most memorable treble, diverting one attempted shot past the keeper before poking home from close range and tapping into an empty net from inside the six-yard box.

Barcelona 7-0 Celtic (September 13, 2016)

Messi may have been aggrieved to only get three of Barcelona's seven goals this day, although his opening goal was arguably the pick of the bunch as he slammed his finish into the top corner from a tight angle.

The other two goals came from inside the six-yard box - the second of which he took off the toes of Neymar - to bring up his sixth Champions League treble.

Barcelona 4-0 Manchester City (October 19, 2016)

Hat-trick number seven came just over a month after number six as Messi went on to score 10 goals in the 2016-17 group stages, brushing aside Pep Guardiola's Man City side at Camp Nou.

The opening goal saw him exchange passes with Andres Iniesta before keeping his composure to round the keeper and stroke home, before then firing past Willy Caballero at the near post and completing the hat-trick with a cushioned half-volley finish.

Barcelona 4-0 PSV (September 18, 2018)

Almost two years after his last Champions League hat-trick, Messi brought up his record eighth against PSV last night, including an inch-perfect free kick into the top corner to open the scoring.

The second was a beautifully-controlled finish from Ivan Rakitic's lofted pass forward, and he brought up hat-trick number 42 for Barcelona by stroking home Luis Suarez's through-ball to cap off the scoring.