Messi mired in worst Barca drought since 2010

Lionel Messi failed to find the net once again on Wednesday as Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid, with the Argentinian's 452-minute goal drought his worst such run since April 2010.

Messi is searching for his 450th Barcelona goal as he looks to further etch his name into club folklore with another milestone, but he has been stuck on 449 since March 16, when he netted the third in a 3-1 win over Arsenal.

Since then the Argentina star has failed to net in five successive matches, with Villarreal, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid – twice – keeping him at bay.

The last time Messi endured such a run was April 2010, when he failed to score for 474 minutes across all competitions.

Messi's barren run is coinciding with a troubling time for Barcelona, with Wednesday's 2-0 defeat seeing their Champions League title defence ended, while they have won only one of their last five in all competitions.

The 28-year-old is stuck on 22 league goals this season and looks to be on course for his lowest-scoring campaign domestically since 2008-09, when he netted 23.

And Barca will be eager for him to find his mark again quickly, with Atletico now only three points behind in the Liga title race with just six games remaining.