Lionel Messi scored two direct free-kick goals in Barcelona’s 4-1 win over Celta Vigo on Saturday, scoring his first hat-trick of the season and taking his team to the top of the Spanish La Liga after a difficult week.
In the previous match, Karim Benzema scored twice in Real Madrid’s 4-0 victory at Eibar’s home, which left the “merengue” tied on points with the azulgranas in the lead.
The Argentinian star showed his cold blood and converted a penalty in the 23rd minute that put the Catalan club ahead on the scoreboard. However, he later committed a foul in a dangerous area, which was taken advantage of by Uruguayan Lucas Olaza to equalize the contest with a free kick in 42.
However, Messi restored the home lead just before half-time with a direct free-kick that slipped into the corner. At the start of the second half, he scored an almost identical goal to complete his hat-trick and equal, in the process, Cristiano Ronaldo’s record 34 hat-tricks in La Liga.
Sergio Busquets scored the fourth in the 85 to round off the first Azulgrana triumph in the last three games, after the unexpected 3-1 defeat to Levante last week in La Liga and the no less surprising 0-0 draw at home to Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
Before in the match played under torrential rain at the compact Basque stadium of Ipurua, Benzema led a comfortable white start, pushing a loose ball into the back of the net in the 17th minute.
Zinedine Zidane’s team quickly expanded their led by converting Sergio Ramos a penalty in the 20th minute after Eden Hazard was knocked down inside the area.
Before the half-hour, an action on Lucas Vazquez was sanctioned with a penalty as well. The one in charge of transforming it was Benzema, who scored his fourth goal in the last two games, after the double he got on Wednesday in the 6-0 against Galatasaray for the Champions League.
Barcelona is now at the top of the table, with 25 points from 12 games, level with Real Madrid and two points ahead of Real Sociedad.