MADRID (AFP) - Lionel Messi continued his sublime form by netting his 31st La Liga hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Levante 5-0 on Sunday (Dec 16) to regain their three-point lead at the top of the table.
The 31-year-old Argentinian arrived in Valencia having scored two free-kicks in last weekend's derby thumping of Espanyol. He took his goals tally for the season to 20 after a virtuoso display, while also teeing up Luis Suarez's 35th-minute opener and Gerard Pique's late fifth.
Barca were under pressure after Atletico Madrid and second-placed Sevilla had both moved level on points with the Catalan giants.
But after resting his key stars for their final Champions League group-stage match against Tottenham in midweek, coach Ernesto Valverde saw his refreshed side cruise to a third straight league win without conceding a goal.
Levante started the game brightly and visiting goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was forced into an early save by Ghanaian Emmanuel Boateng.
But Barca did not take long to start moving through the gears, with Messi curling wide from long range before testing Oier Olazabal in the Levante goal with a free-kick.
Just seconds after Boateng hammered a left-footed strike against the crossbar, the reigning Spanish champions broke the deadlock as Messi jinked through a mesmerised home defence and picked out Suarez who volleyed home.
But Levante, who had ended Barcelona's dreams of going through last season's La Liga campaign unbeaten with a remarkable 5-4 victory in the penultimate game, came close to a quick response as Jose Luis Morales fired over.
The match was all but ended as a contest when Messi bore down on goal two minutes before half-time and drilled low into the net.
He wasted little time after the restart to add his second in the 47th minute, sweeping home Jordi Alba's clever cutback, before completing his treble with a simple tap-in from Arturo Vidal's square pass on the hour mark.
Messi has scored five goals in two league games since finishing only fifth in the voting for the Ballon d'Or earlier this month.
A bad evening for Levante worsened with 14 minutes to play, as left-back Erick Cabaco was sent off for a reckless lunge on Ousmane Dembele.
Centre-back Pique added further gloss to the scoreline in the 88th minute, rampaging forward to collect Messi's pass, before keeping his cool and rolling the ball home.
Sevilla keep up the paceÂ
Sevilla reclaimed second place earlier on Sunday as second-half strikes from Ever Banega and Pablo Sarabia sealed a 2-0 win over Girona.
Pablo Machin's side are unbeaten in seven league games since a 4-2 loss at Barcain October.
The hosts had to wait until the 55th minute to break the deadlock, when striker Andre Silva was tripped in the area by Girona defender Juanpe.
Argentinian Banega stepped up to send visiting goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz the wrong way from the penalty spot.
The points were wrapped up only nine minutes later, as Wissam Ben Yedder cut the ball back for the onrushing Sarabia to slide home his 14th goal of the season in all competitions.
"In the first half they (Girona) were very good," said Machin.
"They were very organised and had good chances, when (Sevilla goalkeeper) Tomas (Vaclik) was splendid.
"In the second half we were the better team." Elsewhere, Villarreal were plunged further into crisis as Samuele Longo's 93rd-minute strike saw them held to a 2-2 draw at bottom club Huesca.
Villarreal, who replaced Javier Calleja with Luis Garcia Plaza as coach in midweek, are only one point and one place above the relegation zone.
Real Betis eased to a 3-1 win at Espanyol to move into fifth place after a third successive league victory.
Giovani Lo Celso scored and missed a penalty for Betis, with Cristian Tello also on the scoresheet.
Espanyol, who led the table earlier in the season, have lost five straight matches to slip into the bottom half.
Napoli could finish the weekend trailing Serie A leaders Juventus by 11 points after Carlo Ancelotti's wasteful side stuttered to a 0-0 draw at Fiorentina on Saturday, as Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal to get Inter Milan back winning against promoted Parma.
Napoli stumble at Fiorentina, Martinez gets Inter back winning
Luis Suárez scores twice as Barcelona beat Real Madrid to
Wolves rank among the most social of carnivores, so it's not surprising they have evolved such diverse forms of communication. The most dramatic form of wolf-to-wolf communication, howling, serves to locate separated pack members and advertise a pack's territory, as a wolf howl may be audible for several miles.
Wolves to make it 'special' - theworldnews.net
Napoli 0-1 (agg 0-3) Arsenal: Unai Emery's men reach Europa League semi-finals with ease Alexandre Lacazette's free-kick secured a 1-0 win over the Serie A giants and a 3-0 victory on aggregate
Napoli 0 - 1 Arsenal - Match Report & Highlights
Welcoming New Employee Message It is always an exciting time to bring a new employee on board. From training to socially acclimating to a new environment, here are some great examples of welcoming new employee messages that will help you to bring out the great hospitality of your organization and fellow colleagues.
Photos: Seniors welcome 2019 with Happy Noon Year celebration
LOS ANGELES: David Beckham called his former team LA Galaxy his "family" and thanked Los Angeles for embracing him at the unveiling of his statue before the Major League Soccer club's season-opener on Saturday.
Soccer: Beckham salutes LA Galaxy and Los Angeles as statue
Jurgen Klopp has been fined $83,000 AUD over comments made about the referee in the wake of Liverpool's 1-1 draw at West Ham earlier this month. The Football Association (FA) punished Klopp for
Brandon Ingram had a team-high 20 points for the Lakers, who fell to 6-12 without James in their line-up. 2019, with the headline 'Players confront coach after James-less Lakers' loss'.
Players confront coach after James-less Lakers' loss
Anas Bani Yaseen's first-half header helped Jordan to a 1-0 upset over Australia in the opening match of Group B at the Asian Cup. Australia's bid to defend their Asian Cup crown began in
AFC Asian Cup 2019: Jordan inflict shock 1-0 defeat on Australia
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Watford - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - March 9, 2019 Manchester City's Sergio Aguero misses a chance to score Action Images via Reute
Man City surge clear through Sterling as Spurs suffer
Jesus shines as City regain top spot, Eriksen fires Spurs. Manchester City swept back to the top of the Premier League as Gabriel Jesus but Jurgen Klopp's team can regain top spot if they
Jesus shines as City regain top spot, Eriksen fires Spurs
The Spanish champions were dumped out of the Champions League despite taking a 3-0 lead to Anfield and the fall out could be serious for Coutinho and for coach Ernesto Valverde as well. Some
How to say axe in Spanish - wordhippo.com
PUTRI NUR SYALIZA News - Find latest News & top stories about PUTRI NUR SYALIZA. ST Young Star Award: Queensway Secondary's history-maker Putri Nur Syaliza keeps feet firmly on ground.
14-year-old Secondary 3 girl scores goal in S'pore women's football
watch usa soccer live stream
live tv soccer live stream - live3s.com
watch champions league live streaming zee tv
watch coppa america live streaming live free
khan tv pw watch indian premier league 2018 live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming india
watch champions league draw live stream total sportek
watch champions league live streaming mobile
watch live streaming of premier league football
watch soccer live streaming mobile
watch premier league live streaming free
watch champions league live streaming video
watch soccer online free streaming live youtube
watch uefa champions league live streaming sportek
watch premier league live streaming xbox one
watch coppa america live streaming hd free
watch coppa america live streaming barcelona
cpl 2018 live streaming watch caribbean premier league t20 2018
watch live soccer game barcelona vs real madrid
watch premier league live streaming zee tv
how to watch uefa champions league live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming total sportek
free watch champions league live streaming
watch champions league live streaming match
watch soccer live streaming xfinity
watch champions league live streaming bt sport
watch coppa america live streaming hd
watch coppa america live streaming mexico
super soccer tv live streaming persib
watch soccer online free streaming live manchester united
watch soccer live stream app
watch epl live streaming free no sign up
watch soccer saturday live stream
watch coppa america live streaming app
watch soccer online free streaming live bbc
where to watch premier league live streaming
watch champions league final live streaming
watch live premier league football streaming online for free iraqgoals
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming free
watch soccer online free streaming live english
watch champions league live streaming kenya
watch coppa america live streaming dailymotion
watch coppa america live streaming bt sport
watch coppa america live streaming in india
watch soccer am online live streaming
watch champions league live streaming malaysia
watch champions league live streaming pc
www.watch premier league live stream.com
watch coppa america live streaming twitch
where to watch champions league live streaming
watch premier league live streaming xbox
watch premier league live streaming vk
watch english premier league live streaming online
watch soccer live stream hunter
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online youtube
watch live premier league football streaming online for free
watch champions league live stream gratis
watch soccer live streaming qatar
watch champions league live streaming pakistan
watch soccer online free streaming live canada
watch live soccer streaming free android
watch coppa america live streaming crictime
watch champions league live streaming canada
watch live streaming soccer online espn3
watch champions league draw live streaming
watch champions league soccer live streaming
watch champions league live streaming now tv
watch soccer live football streaming - ronaldo7.net
watch soccer aid live stream online
soccer tv live football streaming reddit
watch the premier league live stream
watch soccer online free streaming live hd
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming online free
watch coppa america live streaming qatar
watch coppa america live streaming without cable
watch coppa america live streaming world
watch premier league live stream reddit
watch iceland soccer live stream
watch soccer live live football streaming cr7
watch soccer world cup live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming reddit
watch soccer online free streaming live no registration
watch coppa america live streaming spain
soccer tv live football streaming garuda select
watch soccer live - live football streaming
how to watch champions league live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming online
watch soccer live streaming hd
watch english premier league live streaming
watch premier league live streaming jamaica
watch soccer live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming free online
watch coppa america live streaming bola
soccer tv live football streaming portugal
watch premier league live in stream
watch coppa america live streaming uk
watch live stream soccer games online free
watch champions league live streaming eng
watch champions league live streaming crictime
watch soccer online free streaming live south africa
watch soccer online free streaming live iphone
watch premier league stream reddit
watch soccer game live now
watch premier league live streaming online - soccer portal
watch real madrid vs juventus live streaming of champions league
watch coppa america live streaming sub eng
watch premier league live streaming zimbabwe
watch champions league live streaming live
watch usa soccer live stream online
watch coppa america live streaming eng
watch premier league live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch champions league live streaming zee5
watch soccer online free streaming live india
watch soccer live streaming kenya vs ethiopia
watch soccer online free streaming live world cup
watch uefa champions league final live streaming free online
watch coppa america live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch coppa america live streaming xbox one
watch champions league live streaming xbox one
watch soccer aid live stream
watch champions league live streaming xbox
#433skills #24x7 #Fcb #winner #oasis #lfc #coyg #kroenkeout #thebeatles #manchestercity #BMW #myfootballuniverse #JUVENTUS #kickoff #sunderlandafc #roadtrip #Liverpool #league2 #footballfans #romania #cappucino #frasitrap #barcelona #gunners #nationsleague #afcnews #gym #ignoranza #acmilan #leicestercity #liverpoolfans #linkstreaming #liverpool #juventus #zinedinezidane #tokyo #Bar #vip #soccerbible #watchlive #gooners #crossfit #cr7 #salah #livestreams #cristianoronaldo #realmadridcf #Vip45 #livestreaming #footballstreaming #manchestercity #mancityvsliverpool #hotcoffee #messi #elcasico #england #arsenalnews #freekicks #Barcelona #valcea #footballmeme #championsleague #livesports #liverpoolcity #arsenal
No comments:
Post a Comment