Lionel Messi equals Cristiano Ronaldo with this record: Details here
Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has this habit of scripting records every now and then. Like every season, Messi has continued to deliver the goods this term as well. Messi, who is the highest goal-scorer in La Liga, was superb in the 4-1 win against Celta Vigo. He went on to claim a special feat. Here are further details.
Messi equals Ronaldo with 34th La Liga hat-trick
Messi scored three goals against Celta Vigo to register his 34th La Liga hat-trick. With this feat, Messi equaled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of most La Liga hat-tricks. Ronaldo had amassed 34 hat-tricks for Real Madrid during his time at Los Blancos. He moved to Juventus in 2018. Now Messi has the chance to register the most hat-tricks in the Spanish league.
Messi scores 52nd career hat-trick and 52nd free-kick
Messi got his first goal through a penalty in the 22nd minute. At the stroke of half-time, he scored a free-kick from around 25 yards out to notch his second goal of the night. Two minutes into the second half, he scored another free-kick. The Argentine notched his 52nd career hat-trick across all competitions. He also scored his 52nd career free-kick.
Barca top La Liga on goal difference, Real thrash Eibar
Besides Messi, Sergio Busqets added the fourth goal for Barcelona. He featured in his 550th game for Barca. The Spanish champions have a goal difference of 18 and are above Real Madrid (16). Real Madrid beat Eibar 4-0 and are level on points alongside Barcelona. Karim Benzema scored a brace for Los Blancos. He now has 233 career goals for Real.
Stat attack: Messi gets to 612 Barca goals
Messi played his 698th game for Barcelona and has 612 goals for the club. He also registered his 427th La Liga goal in 459 appearances. The versatile forward now has nine goals from 11 matches this season.
