(CNN) -- Lionel Messi continued his record goalscoring streak by taking his tally to 88 for the year.
The Barcelona striker scored both goals in his side's 2-0 win at Cordoba in the Copa del Rey as Tito Vilanova's team continued its stunning start to the season.
The Catalan side, which lifted the trophy in Pep Guardiola's final game in charge last season, has won the competition on 26 occasions and looks in good shape to defend its title.
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Barca has won 14 and drawn one of its league games so far this season and has only suffered one defeat, which came in the European Champions League at Celtic.
Lionel Messi breaks goal scoring record
Lionel Messi celebrates after matching Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year, netting in the 16th minute of Barcelona's match against Real Betis. Just nine minutes later the Argentina star passed the German's 1972 milestone.
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Lionel Messi, center, celebrates with Barcelona teammates Cesc Fabregas, left, and Xavi Hernandez after matching Pele's 75 goals in a calendar year.
Messi moves past Pele milestone
But with Messi firing on all cylinders, it is difficult to imagine which team can prevent Barca from regaining the league title from Real Madrid.
Messi beats Muller's 40-year goal record
Only last week, Messi surpassed Gerd Muller's record of 85 goals in a calendar year, which was set back in 1972 by the former Germany and Bayern Munich striker.
Messi, 25, has two games remaining this year to set the bar even higher with La Liga fixtures against Atletico Madrid and Valladolid to come before the end of 2012.
Already his club's leading goalscorer after moving past the 232 mark set by Cesar Rodriguez in the 1950s, the Argentine continues to defy belief.
His two goals against Cordoba means he has now scored 32 times in all competitions for club and country this season.
Messi has also scored 15 goals in his past eight starts for Barca to ensure his team remains unbeaten in domestic competition.
Playing against a Cordoba team, which is ranked below Barcelona's B team in the second division, Messi could have had three or four goals.
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Diego Mendieta's former teammates carry his coffin at the Paraguayan footballer's funeral in Solo, Indonesia.
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Corinthians forward Paolo Guerrero opened the scoring in the Club World Cup semi-final against Egyptian side Al-Ahly with a powerful header.
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Bela Guttmann was a Hungarian Jew who transformed the face of modern football. He worked across the world, enjoying huge success in Brazil and Portugal, where he won the European Cup on two occasions with Benfica.
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After tapping home from close-range on 11 minutes, the striker was denied on three occasions by Cordoba goalkeeper Mikel Saizar.
Messi eventually added his second of the evening with 16 minutes remaining.
He will now go up against Atletico Madrid hot-shot Radamel Falcao on Sunday with both men in fine form.
Falcao scored five in his side's 6-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna last weekend and has netted 16 times in La Liga so far this season.
But the Colombian hot-shot was reduced to a watching role as his side eased to a 3-0 win over Getafe in the first leg of their fifth round tie.
Diego Costa struck twice and Filipe Luis was also on target as Atletico claimed a hefty advantage.
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While Messi had an enjoyable evening, his chief rival for the Ballon d'Or, Cristiano Ronaldo, endured a frustrating night as Real Madrid was beaten 2-1 at Celta Vigo.
The defending champion rested a number of players for the first leg tie and was made to pay the price as Celta claimed a deserved victory.
Mario Bermejo opened the scoring on 56 minutes before substitute Cristian Bustos unleashed a spectacular winner to net his first goal in 110 appearances.
Real had several chances to make the breakthrough against a Celta team ranked 15th in La Liga and finally grabbed a consolation when Ronaldo fired home with three minutes remaining.
That away goal leaves Jose Mourinho's side needing just a 1-0 win to progress to the next round, where it could meet either Osasuna or Valencia.
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Elsewhere, there was embarrassment for last season's finalist Athletic Bilbao after it was knocked out of the competition by minnow Eibar.
Eibar, which plays in the third division, had held the might of Athletic to a goalless draw in the first leg of the fourth round clash.
And it completed an historic triumph after claiming a 1-1 draw at the San Mames to triumph on away goals and set up a last-16 clash with Malaga.
Meanwhile, Sevilla claimed an impressive 5-0 win at Real Mallorca in the first leg of its Copa del Rey tie.
Spain international Alvaro Negredo scored twice with Gary Medel, Alberto Botia and Antonio Manuel Luna also on target.
In Italy, Juventus claimed a 1-0 win over Cagliari in the Coppa Italia thanks to Sebastian Giovinco's 56th minute strike.
The game marked the return of Antonio Conte to the touchline after he recently completed a four-month ban for his alleged role in a match-fixing affair at former club Siena.
Elsewhere, Catania won 4-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Parma.
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In the English League Cup, Swansea booked its place in the semifinals for the very first time in its history following a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
The Welsh club, which is managed by former Barcelona and Real Madrid player Michael Laudrup, joins Aston Villa and fourth-tier Bradford City in the next round with either Leeds or Chelsea set to make up the numbers.
In France, league leaders Lyon moved three points clear at the top, despite being held to a surprise tie by relegation-threatened Nancy.
It was Nancy which took the lead through Jordan Loties and the visitor looked set to win for the first time since the opening day.
But Michel Bastos struck an 83rd minute equalizer to ensure Lyon took a point.
Meanwhile, Marseille moved to within three points of the summit following a 2-1 win at Bastia in a game played behind closed doors.
Following trouble in Bastia's home game with Corsican rivals Ajaccio in October, the game was played without any supporters in the stadium.
Mathieu Valbuena's 15th-minute volley and an Andre Ayew penalty sealed the win with Anthony Modeste grabbing a consolation for Bastia.
Elsewhere, Lorient made it four wins from its past five games with a 2-0 triumph over Sochaux courtesy of strikes from Alain Traore and Lamine Kone.
Evian moved out of the relegation zone thanks to Cedric Barbosa's double in a 2-0 win over Troyes.
Montpellier came from behind to see off Brest 2-1, while Ajaccio claimed a 2-0 victory over Reims.
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The three-time world player of the year, who is shortlisted for a record fourth ballon d'Or in January, passed Muller with three more possible matches to play in 2012.
The 25-year-old crept within one goal of Muller's record with two goals against Athletic Bilbao in a 5-1 victory in December. Click here to see a map of Messi's first 84 goals this year.
However, Messi was injured after coming on as a substitute during a Champions League match against Benfica -- but he made a quick recovery to be fit for the Betis game.
Lionel Messi has enjoyed a stellar 2012. With a hat-trick against Grenada in March, he equaled and broke the all-time goalscoring record for Barcelona in official matches of 232 set by Cesar Rodriguez.
A hat-trick against Malaga in May took Messi to 68 goals for the 2011-12 season, edging him past the record for goals in a European season set by Bayern Munich's Muller in 1972-73.
The Argentina star then moved past the Brazil legend with his second goal of the match against Mallorca, which left Messi nine short of the best tally for a year held by Germany's Gerd Muller.
Messi is in line to win a fourth successive world player of the year award in January. Pele presented him with the Ballon d'Or at the start of this year.
Pele scored 75 goals in 1958, when he launched onto the football scene as a 17-year-old and helped Brazil win that year's World Cup.
That feat was surpassed in 1972 by Muller, who scored 85 goals as West Germany won the European Championship and his club Bayern Munich lifted the Bundesliga title.
He passed away at the age of 32, dying in hospital after contracting an infection. Mendieta was unable to return home to his wife and children because he was owed four months' wages.
Mendieta is mourned by wife Valeriana Alvarez and their children Bele (left) and Gaston.
Mendieta's plight has highlighted the schism in Indonesian football, where two organizations are fighting for control of the game following the creation of a breakaway league. The players' union says 13 clubs are behind in promised salary payments.
Mendieta (left) celebrates with Persis Solo teammates Romuald Noah and Yanuar Ruspuspito after scoring in a match against Persip Pekalongan.
Peru's Guerrero spent six years with German team Hamburg before joining Brazilian club Corinthians earlier this year.
Back in the Eygptian capital Cairo, Al-Ahly fans gathered to watch the semifinal. Al-Ahly qualified for the Club World Cup after winning the African Champions League despite domestic competition in Egypt being suspended following the death of more than 70 fans in February's Port Said stadium tragedy.
During his time in Brazil with Sao Paulo between 1957 and 1958, Guttmann introduced the 4-2-4 system which Brazil used at the 1958 World Cup. Pele is pictured here celebrating after scoring in Brazil's 5-2 World Cup final win over Sweden in Stockholm.
Guttmann led Benfica to glory in the 1961 European Cup final, beating Barcelona 3-2. After arriving at the club from Porto in 1960, Guttmann immediately fired 20 of his squad before going on to win the Portuguese league title two years in a row.
Benfica faced then five-time winners Real Madrid in the 1962 final in Amsterdam, where Guttmann's side produced a famous 5-3 victory. Puskas scored a first-half hat-trick for Real against his former manager but it was not enough as Eusebio fired the Lisbon side to glory with two second-half goals. 
Eusebio was brought to Benfica from Mozambique by Guttmann in 1961. Under his guidance Eusebio would go on to greatness, establishing himself as one of the game's most talented players.
When Guttmann left Benfica after a pay dispute following the 1962 European Cup win, legend has it that he left a curse on the club. He is reported to have told the board that they would never win the title again. The following year, Benfica lost 2-1 to AC Milan in the final -- and suffered defeat in four more since then.
Before the 1990 final against AC Milan in Vienna, Eusebio prayed for forgiveness at Guttmann's grave but it did little good as Benfica lost 1-0. That was Benfica's last European Cup final appearance.
Many have compared Guttmann with Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho. The two are said to have shared many traits, including their man-management skills, fiery tempers and winning mentality. Mourinho's father, Felix, played against Guttmann's Benfica side, saving a penalty from Eusebio.
Portuguese club Benfica are nicknamed the Eagles and before each home game an eagle flies around the Estadio da Luz.
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Benfica hit back with 22 minutes remaining when Oscar Cardozo netted from the penalty spot after Cesar Azpilicueta handled inside the penalty area.
But with the game looking set for extra time, Branislav Ivanovic popped up at the death to head a dramatic winner and secure victory for Chelsea.
One year on from winning the Champions League, Chelsea's players celebrate with the Europa League trophy.
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