Messi tricks again as Barca drubs Espanyol
Print Edition
LIONEL Messi scored another hat-trick to reach the 400-goal mark for Barcelona and spark his team’s 5-1 comeback victory over Espanyol on Sunday, keeping the winner second in the Spanish league.
Messi matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s three-goal performance in Real Madrid’s win the day before to ensure Barcelona stayed within two points of its fierce rival at the top of the table.
It was Messi’s third hat-trick in two weeks, having also netted three goals against Sevilla in the league and at APOEL in the Champions League.
Sergio Garcia put Espanyol in front in the 13th minute in a good first half for the visitors at Camp Nou, but Messi curled home the equalizer in injury time before the break and Barcelona never looked back.
Messi fired in his second in the 50th and added a third after Gerard Pique and substitute Pedro Rodriguez had scored in a second half completely dominated by Barcelona. Already the club’s all-time top scorer, Messi’s 29th career treble for Barcelona was his 400th, 401st and 402nd goals for the club, including friendlies. They took his league tally for this season to 13 goals, behind Ronaldo’s runaway total of 23.
Elsewhere, David Moyes endured his first loss in charge of Real Sociedad, a stinging 0-4 defeat at Villarreal.
Carlos Bacca scored early to help secure Sevilla’s 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano, while Valencia was held 1-1 at Granada.
In England, Andy Carroll guided West Ham to a 3-1 win over Swansea and to third place in the English Premier League. The tall England striker scored from two headers and also flicked on a long ball for Diafra Sakho to grab a third as West Ham came from behind at Upton Park for a third win in eight days.
Aston Villa also rallied to beat bottom side Leicester 2-1 and seal back-to-back wins that lifted the team clear of relegation trouble and into 11th place.
In Germany, Hamburger SV took advantage of Mainz mistakes to win 2-1 in the Bundesliga. In the late match, Alexander Meier scored twice to lead Eintracht Frankfurt past Werder Bremen 5-2.
In Italy, Napoli rallied from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw at home against Empoli, while Genoa beat AC Milan 1-0 to leapfrog Rafa Benitez’s Napoli into third spot in Serie A. Udinese was level with AC Milan after Andrea Stramaccioni upset his former team Inter Milan 2-1 to leave Roberto Mancini still without a league win.
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