Lionel Messi’s incredible form continued in the Camp Nou earlier as he struck his 31st career hat-trick in Barcelona’s 5-0 demolition of Levante. Since missing out on the Ballon D’or and critics asking questions of Messi and Barcelona, they have been imperious and once more today, Messi orchestrated a routine victory. Three goals and another assist for sidekick, Neymar saw the Argentina captain break a few more records.
After a sluggish opening it was a delightful lofted pass from Messi which gave Neymar the opportunity to open the scoring and not only did it begin the rout but was the first record to tumble. The pass was Messi’s 106th La Liga assist which saw him surpass the record of Luís Figo.
Before half time, Messi got his name on the scoresheet with a firm, right footed finish and after the interval a simple tap-in and a penalty ensured that he would be going home with yet another match ball. The three goals saw him tie Telmo Zarra’s record for domestic hat-tricks (31) and also move level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 23 La Liga triples.
In 2015 Messi has now scored 14 goals while Ronaldo has scored 4 in the same period. This prolific patch has seen Messi overtake his Portuguese adversary in the 2014/15 scoring charts.
Barcelona manager, Luís Enrique said after the match, “Messi’s numbers are from another galaxy.” There is no denying that and still only 27 there is no telling what those numbers will look like by the time Messi retires.
golazo argentino 