Barca hat-trick for Messi, Real sits top
Source: Agencies |
October 31, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LIONEL Messi rattled in a 17-minute hat-trick as Barcelona swept aside Real Mallorca 5-0 on Saturday while Real Madrid went top of La Liga with a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad.
World Player of the Year Messi has not been at his best in recent games, failing to score in three outings, but quashed any debate over his form with a first-half treble at the Nou Camp that took his league tally this season to 13.
Barca youngster Isaac Cuenca and Dani Alves wrapped up the scoring in the second half to leave the champion second with 24 points from 10 games, one behind leader Real.
Gonzalo Higuain gave Jose Mourinho's in-form Real Madrid a ninth-minute lead in San Sebastian but the team that netted 28 times in its previous seven matches was denied another hefty win by the battling Basques.
Levante, which has dropped to third with 23 points, can reclaim top spot with an eighth consecutive victory at Osasuna.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola left four World Cup winners on the bench, with a fifth (Xavi) resting in the stands, but they were not missed at the Nou Camp.
The hosts won a penalty for hand-ball in the 13th minute and Messi, who had a last-minute spot kick saved last weekend, blasted the ball high into the net.
Adriano's cross-cum-shot was turned in by the Argentine in the 21st and Messi then volleyed the third from an Alves cross in the 30th.
Cuenca notched the fourth on his home debut in the 50th minute, rounding the keeper from Thiago Alcantara's defence-splitting pass, before Alves crashed in a fifth from distance at the end. Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes kept a clean sheet for an eighth game in a row and edged towards a club record.
World Player of the Year Messi has not been at his best in recent games, failing to score in three outings, but quashed any debate over his form with a first-half treble at the Nou Camp that took his league tally this season to 13.
Barca youngster Isaac Cuenca and Dani Alves wrapped up the scoring in the second half to leave the champion second with 24 points from 10 games, one behind leader Real.
Gonzalo Higuain gave Jose Mourinho's in-form Real Madrid a ninth-minute lead in San Sebastian but the team that netted 28 times in its previous seven matches was denied another hefty win by the battling Basques.
Levante, which has dropped to third with 23 points, can reclaim top spot with an eighth consecutive victory at Osasuna.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola left four World Cup winners on the bench, with a fifth (Xavi) resting in the stands, but they were not missed at the Nou Camp.
The hosts won a penalty for hand-ball in the 13th minute and Messi, who had a last-minute spot kick saved last weekend, blasted the ball high into the net.
Adriano's cross-cum-shot was turned in by the Argentine in the 21st and Messi then volleyed the third from an Alves cross in the 30th.
Cuenca notched the fourth on his home debut in the 50th minute, rounding the keeper from Thiago Alcantara's defence-splitting pass, before Alves crashed in a fifth from distance at the end. Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes kept a clean sheet for an eighth game in a row and edged towards a club record.
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