Messi scored his 402nd goals for Barca
Lionel Messi nets third hat-trick in two weeks in 5-1 win at home to Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday
Lionel Messi scored yet another hat trick to reach the 400-goal mark for Barcelona and spark his team's 5-1 comeback victory over Espanyol in the Catalan capital derby on Sunday, keeping Barca second in the Spanish league table.
Messi matched Cristiano Ronaldo's three-goal performance in Real Madrid's win the day before to ensure Barcelona stayed within two points of its fierce rivals at the top of the table.
It was Messi's third hat trick in two weeks, having also netted three goals against Sevilla in the league and at APOEL in the Champions League.
Sergio Garcia put Espanyol in front in the 13th minute in a good first half for the visitors at Camp Nou, but Messi curled home the equaliser in injury time before the break and Barcelona never looked back.
Messi fired in his second in the 50th and added a third after Gerard Pique and substitute Pedro Rodriguez had scored in a second half completely dominated by Barcelona.
Already the club's all-time top scorer, Messi's 29th career treble for Barcelona was his 400th, 401st and 402nd goals for the club, including friendlies. They took his league tally for this season to 13 goals, behind Ronaldo's runaway total of 23.
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Lionel Messi scored yet another hat trick to reach the 400-goal mark for Barcelona and spark his team's 5-1 comeback victory over Espanyol in the Catalan capital derby on Sunday, keeping Barca second in the Spanish league table.
Messi matched Cristiano Ronaldo's three-goal performance in Real Madrid's win the day before to ensure Barcelona stayed within two points of its fierce rivals at the top of the table.
It was Messi's third hat trick in two weeks, having also netted three goals against Sevilla in the league and at APOEL in the Champions League.
Sergio Garcia put Espanyol in front in the 13th minute in a good first half for the visitors at Camp Nou, but Messi curled home the equaliser in injury time before the break and Barcelona never looked back.
Messi fired in his second in the 50th and added a third after Gerard Pique and substitute Pedro Rodriguez had scored in a second half completely dominated by Barcelona.
Already the club's all-time top scorer, Messi's 29th career treble for Barcelona was his 400th, 401st and 402nd goals for the club, including friendlies. They took his league tally for this season to 13 goals, behind Ronaldo's runaway total of 23.
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