Lionel Messi’s hat trick has helped FC Barcelona get a lead in La Liga. They are now four points ahead of their rivals, Real Madrid. The Spanish giants defeated Espanyol 5-0 in the Catalan derby. Furthermore, with this hat-trick, Lionel Messi takes his total goals to 18 in the Catalan derby.
In the 25th minute, Lionel Messi opened the scoring for Barcelona. However, the replays showed that the Argentine was offside. After that, for a 2-0 lead, Lionel Messi, with an assist from Jordi Alba, scored a goal. In the second half, in the 67th minute, the same duo scored for Barcelona, thus concluding Lionel Messi’s hat-trick.
Furthermore, in the 87th minute, Gerard Pique headed a fourth from Ivan Rakitic’s corner to take them to an unassailable lead. Lastly, record club signing, Ousmane Dembele assisted the out of form Suarez to put the ball at the back of the net to score the fifth goal in the 90th minute.
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With the win, Barcelona are now four points ahead of Real Madrid after three games, which is a hefty lead and might come in handy at the back end of the tournament.
Stats and Trivia:
- Messi becomes the leading goal-scorer in the Catalan Derby with 18 goals.
- The win is Barcelona’s 14th consecutive win at home, their best since January 2014.