Lionel Messi final goal saw even the opposing fans recognize his brilliance. Lionel Messi scored a brilliant hat trick as Barcelona's La Liga beat Real Betis 4-1 on Sunday. The Argentine opened scoring with a stunning 17th-minute strike that gave the league leader's an early advantage. Messi has now scored five goals directly off a free kick across all competitions this season. He's the first player competing in Europe's top-five leagues and UEFA Champions League to notch as many free-kick goals. Messi added a second goal in stoppage time of the first half, doubling Barcelona's lead ahead of the break. But he saved his best for last, floating a shot just over the goalkeeper and hitting the underside of the crossbar to complete his hat trick. All Real Betis fans could do was stand and applaud the brilliant effort.<doc-sep>L ionel Messi and Luis Suarez were both at their brilliant best as Barcelona beat Real Betis 4-1 at the Benito Villamarin tonight and moved 10 points clear at the top of LaLiga. The Argentine hit a stunning hat-trick and the Uruguayan netted the other as Ernesto Valverde’s side made light of a potentially tricky trip to Seville. Barca had lost their home game to Betis 4-3 earlier on this season and Quique Setien’s side competed well early in the game and Sergi Roberto made a goal-saving tackle from Cristian Tello in the opening minutes. But Barca, playing with a 4-4-2 formation in the absence of the injured Ousmane Dembele, were pressing high up the pitch and the Catalans won a free-kick just outside the Betis box after 18 minutes. Messi stepped up and curled the ball into the corner past Pau Lopez, the former Espanyol goalkeeper supposedly covering that side of the goal but powerless to prevent the Argentine’s effort. EPA It was Messi’s 25th free-kick goal in LaLiga in the past eight seasons and he scored again in added time at the end of the first half. This time, it was a fine finish from the Argentine again, but the goal was made for him by Suarez as the Uruguayan put his team-mate through with a back-heeled reverse pass which took all the Betis defenders out of the equation and left the five-time Ballon d’Or in to fire past Pau. REUTERS That seemed set to thwart any hopes of a Betis revival and every time the home side attacked in the second half, Barca broke. Suarez should have made it 3-0 when he ran on to a pass from deep by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but blasted wide when it looked easier to hit the target. He did make it 3-0 shortly afterwards, though, running at the Betis defence and beating several players before firing into the corner for a much more difficult goal. REUTERS Betis pulled one back after 82 minutes when substitute Diego Lainez teed up Loren Moron and the striker beat Ter Stegen with a fierce effort from the edge of the box. But Barca had their three-goal advantage back after 85 minutes when Ivan Rakitic laid the ball off for Messi and the Argentine beat Pau with a delicate but extraordinary chip from just inside the box which went in off the crossbar. It was a wonderful way to bring up his hat-trick and and it means Barca are now 10 points clear at the top of LaLiga after Atletico lost to Athletic Club on Saturday. Bets, meanwhile, drop to eighth. REUTERS The only downside for Barca was the sight of Suarez limping heavily at full-time, sparking potential injury fears for their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United. Relive Real Betis vs Barcelona LIVE with Standard Sport! Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.<doc-sep>Lionel Messi has hit a stunning hat-trick against Real Betis including a utterly outrageous third goal. The Barcelona skipper put his side in front against Real Betis by converting a ridiculous free-kick. He then made it two after a tidy finish. But he left his best strike till last. Advert 10 The 31-year-old started the attack by passing the ball to Ivan Rakitic. The Croatian midfielder then set-up Messi who brilliantly chipped the keeper from inside the box in glorious fashion. This is just filth. ' GOAL! ' MESSI HAS HIS HAT-TRICK :alien: That finish is ridiculous, superlatives will never do this man justice. pic.twitter.com/oiuUTuESf5 - Eleven Sports (@ElevenSports_UK) March 17, 2019 Stop it, Lionel! Another truly sensational hattrick from Messi. He's beginning to be predictable. - Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 17, 2019 Advert 10 Is that chip on the run #Messi 's best ever goal? Incredible effort :goat: - Jason Pettigrove (@jasonpettigrove) March 17, 2019 That Messi chip for the hattrick :clap: Even the Betis fans applauding. Genius #Messi #BetisBarça #laliga - Reshmin Chowdhury (@ReshminTV) March 17, 2019 Oh my word. That was completely out of this world chip finish by Leo Messi. Hattrick Completed :fire::fire::fire::fire::fire: - Bishesh Messi (@BisheshMessi) March 17, 2019 Messi probably just scored the first chip shot/finesse shot hybrid in football history - perpetually mad online (@Baeobab) March 17, 2019 Advert 10 Messi is just something else, wow! How do you chip a goal keeper from that distance and still score. GOAT of all GOAT. - EDAFE MATTHEW ESEOGHENE (@ELEGBETE1) March 17, 2019 I am awstruck. That Goalkeeper chip from a distance of 20 yards!!! Are you nuts Messi???? - Pulak (@PulakFCB) March 17, 2019<doc-sep>
Barcelona are heading for their fourth La Liga title in five years. The Blaugrana’s 4-1 win over Betis on Sunday evening leaves them 10 points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid with 10 league games remaining. The star of the show was Lionel Messi, as he so often is. The Argentinian set Barcelona on their way with a superb free-kick in the 18th minute. And he doubled the score in first half injury-time, converting after Luis Suarez’s incredible pass. Messi also scored twice in Barcelona’s 5-1 win against Lyon in midweek and he made it five goals for the week with a remarkable chip late on. It means he has now scored 39 goals in all competitions this season. Messi's hat-trick goal Simply remarkable. Messi's first two goals Messi's record 477th Barcelona win Messi’s appearance at the Benito Villamarin saw him go joint-second on the list of official appearances for the Blaugrana. He has tied former teammate Andres Iniesta on 674 matches, with Xavi, on 767, the only player to have played more games. And the 31-year-old managed to set a personal record by winning his 477th Barcelona game. Messi was tied with Xavi on 476 wins before Sunday’s match but he’s now the outright record-holder. We salute you, Leo. Sergio Busquets is third on the list with 381 wins while former centre-back Carles Puyol is fourth with 369. Messi’s record looks likely to stand for a very long time. He’s still only 31 and can play at the highest level with Barcelona for several more seasons. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner admitted last year that Barcelona will be the only European club that he plays for, with a return to boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina in his future plans. “I’m increasingly sure that in Europe, Barcelona will be my only club,” Messi told Argentine television station El Trece, per the Independent. “I always said I wanted to play in Argentine football one day, I don’t know if it will happen but I have it in my mind. “It would be at Newell’s, nowhere else.” Sorry to the 19 other La Liga clubs. Messi isn’t leaving Spain anytime soon. News Now - Sport News