( CNN ) -- Another day , another record broken . Lionel Messi must sometimes wonder what all the fuss is about but to those in the outside world who remain permanently entranced by the genius contained within his feet , it was another opportunity to unleash a barrage of superlatives towards a football phenomenon . Just days after breaking the record for the top scorer in Spanish football history , Messi went one further , establishing himself as the leading marksman in the history of the European Champions League . Messi scored a hat-trick for Barcelona in its 4-0 victory against Apoel Nicosia in Cyprus on Wednesday to take his tally to 74 goals in 91 appearances . Raul , who scored 71 goals in 142 appearances , was unlikely to hold onto his record for much longer with Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rewriting the history books . Messi , who began the night level with Raul , required 38 minutes to break the record before adding a couple more for good measure later on . He now sits three clear of Ronaldo , who will hope to feature for Real against Swiss side Basel on Wednesday night . It is easy to forget that Messi is only 27 . This latest landmark is just one in a number which he has reached in recent years . The Barcelona forward , whose future at the club has come under some question in recent weeks , hit the headlines last weekend by scoring a hat-trick in the 5-1 win over Sevilla . Telmo Zarra 's record of 251 Spanish league goals had stood for 59-years but it would take a brave person to bet against Messi 's remaining longer . Messi 's record of 253 will no doubt be extended in years to come as will his exploits in the Champions League . The forward has scored 368 goals in all competitions for Barcelona so far , while he registered 91 times during an incredible 2012 -- beating the previous best of 85 in a calendar year by Gerd Muller . The 2011-12 campaign was one of Messi 's most successful as he scored 68 goals , 50 of those coming in just 37 league games , 44 with his left foot and just one with his head . Messi , who won the prestigious Ballon d'Or four times between 2009-12 , netted in 21 consecutive league matches last season which enabled him to score against every other club in the Spanish top flight . With his team safely through to the next stage of the competition , Messi will hope to inspire Barcelona to Champions League glory following a disappointing campaign last year . One man who is eager to help Messi achieve the feat is Luis Suarez , who scored his first goal for the club since joining from Liverpool . Suarez scored the opening goal in Cyprus before Messi took over , scoring three times to secure the win . Barcelona sits second in its group , a point behind Paris Saint-Germain , which defeated Ajax 3-1 to remain top . Awesome Aguero . Messi was n't the only Argentina striker to hit a hat-trick on Wednesday as Sergio Aguero 's triple propelled Manchester City to a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich . Trailing 2-1 to 10-man Bayern , Aguero scored twice in the final five minutes of the contest to keep his side 's qualification hopes alive . Bayern , which is already through to the knockout phase , suffered a nightmare start when Mehdi Benatia was sent off for a professional foul on Aguero . The forward stroked home the penalty as City took control only to be knocked out of its stride before the break . Xabi Alonso 's free kick drew Bayern level and Robert Lewandowski added a second just before the break . City looked down and out but Aguero 's late heroics ensured City can still qualify for the next stage . That 's because AS Roma was held to a 1-1 draw by CSKA in Moscow . Francesco Totti rifled home a free kick for the Italian side which was pegged back in the final minute of stoppage time . Roma will qualify for the next stage if it defeats City , while the English club can progress with a victory or a score draw if CSKA loses . CSKA must win at Bayern and hope that the other game finishes level . In Group G , Chelsea secured top spot with a 5-0 thrashing of Schalke in Germany . John Terry fired the visiting side ahead before Willian doubled its advantage . An own-goal by Jan Kirchoff made it three before Didier Drogba and Ramires completed the humiliation . In Group H , Porto ensured it will finish top with a 3-0 win at Bate Borisov , while Shakhtar was beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao .
Apoel Nicosia becomes top scorer in Champions League history . Champions League scores hat-trick against Apoel Nicosia . Messi broke the previous 71-goal record held by Raul . Raul scores second goal for Ronaldo .