Lionel Messi hit a second successive La Liga hat-trick, and his eighth goal in a week, as the magical Argentine inspired Barcelona to a 4-2 win at Real Zaragoza last night.
Lionel Messi hit a second successive La Liga hat-trick, and his eighth goal in a week, as the magical Argentine inspired Barcelona to a 4-2 win at Real Zaragoza last night.
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Three to tango! Barcelona's Argentine ace Lionel Messi celebrates his second goal with teammates Maxwell Scherrer (left) and Sergio Busquets (right) |
Messi has now scored 11 of Barcelona's last 14 goals, keeping the champions neck-and-neck with Real Madrid at the top of the table.
It was Messi's fifth career hat-trick for Barcelona and followed his triple in the 3-0 win over Valencia last weekend and double strike in the 4-0 mid-week win over Stuttgart which ensured a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Barcelona needing a victory to stay level with Real Madrid, who beat Sporting Gijon 3-1 on Saturday, got off to the perfect start with Messi heading them in front after four minutes.
Barcelona had to wait until midway through the second half for a second goal when Messi went on a mazy run, beating two players before finishing clinically.
He added a third before substitute Adrian Colunga brought Zaragoza briefly back into the match with a brace.
Messi though was proving unstoppable and he forced a penalty which Zlatan Ibrahimovic converted in injury time.
Other La Liga results
Malaga u00a02-0u00a0u00a0 Villarreal
Mallorca u00a04-1u00a0u00a0u00a0 Atletico Madrid
Osasuna u00a01-3u00a0u00a0u00a0 R Santander
Valencia u00a02-0u00a0u00a0 Almeria
