Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Lionel Messi hit a sumptuous hat-trick, the 50th of his career, to inspire Barcelona to a 4-2 victory over Sevilla on Saturday and take them one step closer to winning La Liga.
Messi was supposed to be lacking fitness and Barca struggling for form but both delivered a resounding response at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, with two matches against Real Madrid just around the corner.
After scoring 11 goals in nine games, Messi’s thigh strain had coincided with a dip by his own high standards, one goal in four prompting concerns that he was being pushed too far.
But the Argentinian was back to his scintillating best, this was his 44th treble for Barcelona, now the joint most for a Spanish club alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, rounded off by a trademark chip late on.
Luis Suarez needed a goal too after a disappointing performance against Lyon in midweek and he wrapped up the perfect afternoon by adding a fourth, after Jesus Navas and Gabriel Mercado had twice put Sevilla ahead in the first half.
Sevilla’s top-four hopes look increasingly uncertain but for Barcelona, this was one of the toughest tests left in their run-in, with perhaps the most difficult to come next weekend, against Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real, who face Levante on Sunday, sit 12 points behind Barca and their best hope of a domestic trophy is surely now in beating them first on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey.
As well as a return to form for Messi and Suarez, there was a return to the team for Samuel Umtiti, the defender handed his first appearance in three months after recovering from a knee injury.
It was given an early test as Wissam Ben Yedder twisted him one way and then the other but Umtiti was quick on his feet and did well to make the block.
Sevilla had started at a furious pace and it was the speedy Navas that scored first, sprinting almost 78 metres to meet the end of a slick counter-attack.
Messi lost the ball and Ben Yedder set off through the centre, teeing up Navas on the right to find the far corner.
Messi soon made amends. Ivan Rakitic sent over a dangling cross, which he volleyed sweetly past Tomas Vaclik with his left foot.
The ball was flying from one end to the other as Umtiti stopped the lively Pablo Sarabia and Gerard Pique’s blistering break forward was halted by his opposite number three, Sergi Gomez.
from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2SlI8Pt
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