Lionel Messi breaks 40-year-old scoring record with 86th goal

Lionel Messi broke German great Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a year by scoring for the 86th time in 2012 on Sunday. The Argentine forward scored twice to lead Barcelona to a 2-1 win at Real Betis in the Spanish league match. His first was an individual effort in the 16th minute, and he eclipsed the 1972 milestone with a familiar left-footed finish nine minutes later. “As I have said many times, the record is nice but the important thing is the victory that keeps us on the path we want to continue on,” Messi said. Messi (pictured) has 74 goals for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina this year, and he has three more games in which he can add to his tally before the end of the year. Mueller scored 85 for Bayern Munich and West Germany. –AP