BARCELONA defeated Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-0 to match the 20-goal scoring record in the group stage of the European Champions League (UCL), but Lionel Messi fell short of equaling Cristiano Ronaldo’s 11-goal mark in the first phase of the tournament.

    In another match, Arsenal easily beat Basel 4-1 to finish a surprise winner of its Champions League group Tuesday, powered by a hat trick from little-used forward Lucas Perez.

    Arsenal unexpectedly finished atop Group A, rising above Paris Saint-Germain, which drew 2-2 at home to winless Ludogorets Razgrad.

    As a group winner, Arsenal is seeded in Monday’s draw for the Round of 16, hoping to avoid a seventh straight exit at that stage.

    Messi’s 10th goal and Arda Turan’s hat trick helped Barcelona reach the 20 goals in this season’s group stage, a feat achieved only three other times in the past, including by the Catalan club in 2011-12.

    Real Madrid did it in 2013-14 and Manchester United in 1998-99.

    All Group C positions had already been decided ahead of Tuesday’s final round. Barcelona finished with 15 points, six more than Manchester City, which drew 1-1 with Celtic in England. Moenchengladbach ended third with five points, two more than winless Celtic.

    “The team played well the entire match,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “The players were quick and precise. I congratulate them.”

    Messi scored in the 16th minute at Camp Nou after a one-two with Turan inside the Moenchengladbach area. The Argentine slid behind the defenders and fired home a low left-foot shot after receiving Turan’s return pass.

    Messi had a great chance to match Ronaldo’s record in the 73rd, but his close-range header was brilliantly saved on the line by goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

    Turan scored in the 50th, 53rd and 67th minutes to help the Catalan club end a three-game winless streak. It conceded a 90th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 home draw against Real Madrid in the Spanish league Saturday.

    According to UEFA’s statistics, Barcelona made a whopping 1,022 passing attempts Tuesday, completing 939 of them.

    Barcelona was without forward Neymar and midfielder Ivan Rakitic because of suspensions.(SD-Agencies)